Originally published March 10 2005
Demand for live TV on cell phones is exaggerated, say industry watchers
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
As cell phones increase in sophistication, some carriers are touting video clips and even live television broadcasts as the next big thing in cell phones. But critics say that the industry hype is not backed up with solid consumer demand, noting that more than 70% of US consumers have little or no interest in receiving video via cell phone.
George Bush is about to announce a U.S. attack on a Middle East country.
There's not a TV set in sight.
You pull out your phone, flick it open, and summon a live TV broadcast from the White House.
This happened to Phillip Alvelda back in the spring of 2003, as bombs dropped on Baghdad.
But while this is a past scenario, many in the mobile industry, including Alvelda himself as the CEO of a mobile TV company, want it to be the future.
Operators worldwide are already selling short video clips.
Two of the biggest phone companies -- Verizon and Vodafone -- are partnering with Twentieth Century Fox Television to create specially made-for-mobile dramas, or "mobisodes," that last only a minute.
Others think selling live television might be another big earner.
Television is the most mass-market "application" in the world today -- you don't need to be a gadget-totting technophile to enjoy it.
Of course, nobody is suggesting that you'll watch TV on your cell phone when your flat-panel, wide-screen television set is nearby.
Others are building special high-speed networks just to deliver TV to mobiles, like Qualcomm's $800 million Flo network.
In "Mobile TV: Hype not Justified by Demand," market research company Strategy Analytics denounces the momentum toward true television on mobiles as unfounded.
The company's own market research found little interest from consumers in watching TV on their phones, with over 70 percent of U.S. respondents saying they had little or no interest in the service.
More than 80 percent of its 3G customer base watches live TV, the company claims.
Even Strategy Analytics' own Nitesh Patel, a senior industry analyst, admitted interest increased once people had actually seen mobile TV services in action.
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