AT&T To Offer Mobile TV Service in 08
20th Dec 07 – AT&T is planning to launch their own mobile TV service in early 2008, with 8 channels on offer. Other networks have been offering their own mobile TV services for some time (Verizon has their
VCAST Mobile TV service, and Sprint has their
Sprint TV service), leaving AT&T and T-Mobile as the only major networks not to offer mobile TV.
The details of the launch date were revealed in an
interview with AT&T media relations director Mark Seigel in Multichannel News. The service was originally scheduled to be launched in 2007, but tests on the service took longer than expected. “We decided to take just a little extra time to make sure the user experience is absolutely optimal” Seigel said.
He now claims that the new service will be launched as early as possible in 2008, with 8 channels being offered in the basic package. These include the mobile versions of CBS, Fox, NBC, NBC news and ESPN, plus channels from MTV, Comedy Central and Nickleodeon. No details were revealed on the pricing or handsets that can be used with the service, but Verizon charges from $15 a month for their basic service, which includes the same selection of channels.
Sprint charges $20 a month for their basic service.The as-yet unnamed AT&T mobile TV service is built on the MediaFLO platform, which is the same used by
Verizon for their VCAST service.
