BT reported "clear consumer demand" for its trial mobile service that delivers broadcast digital TV and radio to mobile phones. The pilot BT Movio -- formerly known as BT Livetime - revealed that two thirds of customers would be prepared to pay up to £8/month for the service on their current mobile network, creating new revenue streams for mobile operators.
Set for commercial launch later this year, BT Movio intends to be the first wholesale mobile broadcast entertainment service to launch in the UK .
The service is broadcast using the Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) network and is navigated through the world's first implementation of DAB delivered electronic programme guide (EPG) on a mobile TV phone. Unlike other mobile TV services, BT Movio's use of a broadcast platform allows multiple users to access services at the same time without a reduction in quality.
Over the past four months BT Movio, together with its mobile operator partner for the pilot, Virgin Mobile, has been broadcasting digital TV and digital radio via a DAB-IP enabled smartphone to 1000 users in the M25 area. The results of the pilot have been extremely positive with the majority of pilot users saying that they would consider upgrading their mobile phone to one which supports the service. 73 per cent of participants stated that they would be prepared to pay for the service on their current network if the service was priced competitively. 38% were prepared to switch networks to receive this service.
Some key findings:
- Over three quarters of the pilot users tuned into digital TV and radio on their mobile on a weekly basis or more often, with the average length of TV viewing being more than one hour per week.
- A large proportion of pilot users stated that they want up to five types of mobile TV channels including a combination of news, sport, comedy, sitcoms and music.
- Users tuned into Digital Radio on average for over one and a half hours every week.
