Verizon to Put TV Shows on Cellphones
LAS VEGAS–Can't get enough of television? Real TV is soon coming to your cellphone, if you're a Verizon Wireless customer. Yes, you'll also need one of two specific handsets when V Cast Mobile TV launches sometime in the first quarter, but this is the closest thing to broadcast television that you'll find on a mobile device–because it is, literally, being broadcast like traditional TV.
Verizon says it will offer full-run shows from the major networks–imagine CSI or Jay Leno with you on the subway or bus or as background noise in your car. Other video services from wireless carriers, including Verizon and Sprint, have featured small clips from archived shows. But this long-form programming is different from the "snacking" TV that the carriers have offered so far, says John Stratton, Verizon Wireless's chief marketing officer.
The service will launch amid doubts about wireless companies being able to profit from the myriad data and entertainment services they're now offering alongside voice calls. "This is something we will grow into–we understand that," says Verizon President Denny Strigl.
And brace yourself because ads will come along for the ride, unlike the clips that carriers have been offering. Verizon's new service will be live, streaming in linear fashion like regular television. The company didn't say how many channels it will offer or how much more it will charge customers for access.
In demos at the Verizon announcement, which came on the eve of the annual Consumer Electronics Show here, the service displayed none of the jitters, pauses, or other annoyances that have beset TV offerings on cellphones. The programs came across on the handsets with smooth, crisp images, and changing channels also was quick, even better than some homebound digital TV services from cable or satellite companies.
The signals are riding on a network put together by Qualcomm, which makes chips and network gear for cellphones. Qualcomm is spending $800 million on its MediaFLO, which is installing special broadcast gear on TV towers–there are three in the Las Vegas area, for example, says Gina Lombardi, MediaFLO's president. Each of the phones has an antenna and chips for pulling in the broadcast signal, which doesn't depend on the carrier's network for voice and data. The service is also being tested by other carriers, including Sprint, which now offers the widest assortment of video programming through its Sprint Vision networks, including some live programs.
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