Mobile TV to revolutionise advertising

Dubai: Mobile TV services could reshape the TV advertising market and create new prime time hours, an industry executive predicted.

New pocket TV devices are expected to enter the UAE market this year once government regulators approve the format to distribute a new technology called DVB-H, or direct video broadcast, handheld.

DVB-H is billed as a richer and more vivid viewing experience than current mobile TV on 3G phones. Both telecom providers in the UAE, etisalat and du, are conducting DVB-H trials.

Once the technology is unveiled to the public, Stefano Martini, CEO of Milan-based Quantum, a producer of handheld TVs, said viewing patterns could change as subscribers watch programmes during their commute to work or during lunch breaks.

This could expand the advertising market and generate new fees for telecom providers and broadcasters through the viewing patterns that evolve, he said.

"DVB-H gives broadcasters the ability to take content that is in the home, outside the home," Martini told Gulf News during an telecommunications exhibition in Dubai last week.

Quantum has partnered with RRD, another European device maker, and satellite systems distributor Eurostar to produce a pocket TV device for the UAE market.

The three firms are offering a sleek, black standalone device as a rival to DVB-H-equipped mobile phones. The pocket TV, called ES-2000H, has a 4.3-inch screen that is three times larger than those on mobile phones. The companies are currently in talks to develop a trial project with du, Martini said.

The pocket TV comes with four gigabytes of memory to store pictures, music and videos and includes a navigation system.

The device is slated to debut in Europe for 299 euros (Dh1,460) along with a six-month contract. In the UAE, Eurostar expects to offer it at its retail stores as well as through telecom providers du and etisalat.