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Broadcast Groups Form ‘Open Mobile Video Coalition’

Some of the largest television broadcast groups in the country have banded together to form an alliance which they hope will speed the development of mobile digital broadcast television.

The alliance, the Open Mobile Video Coalition, is made up of Belo, Fox Television, Gannett Broadcasting, Gray Television, ION Media, the NBC & Telemundo Television stations, Sinclair Broadcast and Tribune Broadcasting, writes Cellular News.
These companies collectively represent over 280 television stations in 110 U.S. markets reaching 85 percent of the total television households. Since the coalition is an open alliance for the benefit of the industry, all television broadcasters are encouraged to join, writes Sinclair Broadcast in a statement about the coalition.

“If you consider that the 100 million mobile video device units estimated to be sold in the U.S. in 2007 is almost equivalent to the number of total TV households in the country, then clearly there is significant potential for broadcasters to extend reach, keep the viewing audience tuned in to their favorite programs, and offer a greater array of programming options through mobile digital television,” says David Smith, president and CEO of Sinclair.

An eMarketer study released earlier this month showed that there would be 750 million mobile video users by 2011.