Math for Mobile DTV Adds Up for All

Stations seem to be falling into two camps when it comes to launching mobile digital television: those who have and those who will.

Thanks to two initiatives there are also choices when it comes to mobile DTV offerings, including Dyle, a service from the Mobile Content Venture (MCV) and the Mobile 500 Alliance’s “MYDTV” service. These broadcast-based methods for enjoying local television on smartphones and tablets are not to be confused with services like the controversial subscription service Aereo, which rely on Internet access and data plans. That’s part of the reason the math for mobile DTV adds up for consumers and advertisers as well as for TV stations. It may take a while longer, but the math for supporting mobile TV will look good to wireless carriers as well.

So what are the key factors in a winning mathematical formula for mobile DTV? Erik Moreno, co-general manager of Mobile Content Venture (MCV), a joint venture of 12 major TV station groups, identifies four of them:

• Expanding the reach of a local station to the huge base of consumers that want to watch live television on the go;
• Extending the value of the station’s brand to the market’s fastest growing and largest media platform;
• Delivering a highly effective marketing medium to local advertisers; and
• Providing the most logical solution to the country’s cellular bandwidth challenges.