OMVC details results of Mobile DTV consumer trial

After a three-month consumer trial in Washington, D.C., the Open Mobile Video Coalition is detailing results and viewing habits from its Mobile DTV Consumer Showcase.
With as many as 350 consumers engaged in the trial, the most enthusiastically endorsed content was live, local news broadcasts. Viewing was also heaviest during the work week as viewers tuned in to 33 different genres of programming throughout the summer.
More than 2,600 different TV programs have been viewed since the trial began in May and local news leads viewing by number of episodes and total unique viewers, according to data compiled by Rentrak Corp.’s Mobile Essentials system. OMVC also found that mobile viewing would spike during emergencies as the devices also proved to be a great sources of information during storms and other public-safety emergencies.
“Mid-term results from the OMVC’s Consumer Showcase confirm that people most want to see live, local programming on Mobile DTV. This tracks with a Magid Media Labs survey OMVC sponsored last December that found nearly nine out of 10 consumers said they wanted to see live news and weather programming while on-the-go. Our hands-on findings in Washington show that local channels will be the anchor for future Mobile DTV services,” said ION Media Network CEO Brandon Burgess, who also serves as OMVC President. “The Showcase will continue through September and October as we reach out to more consumers with different devices,” Burgess added.
“Bottom line, many people say they are watching more local TV. Since May, we’ve gathered more than 15,000 comments from Consumer Showcase participants who’ve been tuning in morning, noon, and night. These viewers agreed to let us monitor their channel-changing habits, locations, and opinions about the 23 channels of TV content locally transmitted by nine Washington TV broadcasters,” said Aaron Heffron, VP of public affairs research for Harris Interactive Inc.
In addition to the trial in Washington, TV broadcasters are now transmitting Mobile DTV signals in New York, Los Angeles, Detroit, Philadelphia, Chicago, Austin, San Jose, Atlanta, Orlando and other cities.
The mid-term trial results come on the heel of the formation of the Mobile500 Alliance, which hopes to get most, if not all, broadcasters to adopt Mobile DTV standards in short order.