The majority of the British public would watch free-to-air TV on their mobiles in at least one environment, new research undertaken on behalf of Telegent Systems has found.
58% identified at least one environment in which they would be likely to use a free-to-air mobile television service, including when travelling on trains and buses, whilst at work and even when queuing. Free-to-air television, which enables people to watch programmes as they are screened through suitable receivers, is even more popular among younger people, with 80% of 18-24 year olds and 76% of 25-34 year olds saying they would be likely to use free-to-air mobile television.
Mobile TV is already proving popular in Latin American markets as well as in Africa and Asia, but has yet to make a similar impact in the European market. Telegent President and CEO Sam Sheng believes that, “To date, European operators and consumers have been understandably held back by regulatory and standards confusion, unproven technologies and the costs associated with building and operating mobile specific TV platforms. All of those issues can be avoided by using the existing broadcast TV infrastructure and building the receiver technology into the handset.”
With the World Cup kicking off in South Africa in less than two weeks, and some games being played in the day when people are at work and away from their home television sets, free-to-air television on mobile phones currently looks like it may be an attractive and convenient option for England fans.
