Towards a realistic assessment of mobile TV developments

Mobile TV is a very prolific example of convergence of telecommunications and electronic mass media and has, therefore, attracted much attention. In the minds of some observers, the fact that mobile TV clearly exemplifies convergence is an argument in itself for its certain success, as there is a general trend towards convergence. This is, however, not necessarily so. The success or failure of mobile TV has to be proven in the market, and the aim of the paper is to contribute to a realistic examination of the market prospects for mobile TV. This is performed on the basis of an assessment of the actual experiences with the introduction of mobile TV in a selected number of countries focusing on the business models implemented and their preliminary rates of success or failure, the policy decisions influencing these business models, and the prospective technology developments in the field. Mobile TV has been introduced to the market since 2005, first in South Korea and since then in a growing array of countries around the world. Different technology solutions are implemented, and business models also differ – as does the policy environment. The paper examines examples of market introductions of mobile TV in Europe, Asia and the US focusing on the business models applied and the technologies used. Both these aspects – business models as well as technology solutions – are influenced by policy decisions. Hi