10 markets to get free mobile video services from TV group

ABC Owned Television Stations Group has launched free, ad-supported mobile video services in all 10 of its markets. Such moves appear to be gaining steam in an industry where broadcasters have traditionally held a significant controlling interest in the distribution of their programming.
With mobile, many new outlets have come to the scene, which has brought a fresh slate of nontraditional players to the entertainment business. While most studios and media empires have partnered with one or more mobile TV providers like MediaFLO USA Inc., GoTV Networks Inc. and MobiTV Inc., they are also extremely interested in utilizing their own relatively new digital broadcast services and existing partnerships to maintain a level of control in mobile.
In fact, a special subcommittee of the Advanced Television Systems Committee is reviewing 10 detailed proposals for a backwards-compatible technology to the current digital standard. The international, nonprofit organization develops or adopts voluntary standards for digital television systems is now looking to adopt an ATSC-M/H standard by early 2009, when broadcasters are required to shut down their analog broadcasts.
ABC Owned Television Stations Group is making its own move well before that, however. “The launch of this mobile video service offers a win-win opportunity for both viewers on the go and advertisers who want to remain connected to them. As a free and accessible service with compelling content, the service is designed to successfully meet the growing demand for news video on video-enabled mobile devices in our markets,” said William Burton, executive VP of digital media at the company.
Local Wireless, an aggregator of local television news content, got the deal to help deliver the service, which will serve viewers in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Houston, Raleigh-Durham, N.C., Fresno, Calif., Flint, Mich., and Toledo, Ohio.
“The landmark entry of the ABC Owned Television Stations Group into this exciting new field of advertiser-supported mobile news video demonstrates the tremendous potential of this platform. We look forward to our work with the group, as it continues to expand the level of top quality mobile content available to consumers,” said Lee Durham, president of LSN Inc., the parent company of Local Wireless.