Agora Media Group Innovation Blog

Another announcement last week, which I received with enthausiasm, was the approval of the Mobile DTV Standard by the ATSC (Advanced Television Systems Committee). The press release can be read here.

The Mobile DTV Standard are technical specifications which enable broadcasters to offer new services to mobile and other handheld devices making use of their digital television transmissions (DTV).

Indeed a milestone in the evolution and convergence of digital television. Broadcasters will have a wider range of devices to their disposal to offer existing -but more important- new services to their customers.

New business models arising from the Mobile DTV standard, will revolve around the evolution of Social TV and its convergence. The Mobile DTV Standard enables the possibility of interactive television services which will mix television, mobile and Internet to create new content services/applications and evolve transactional television to the next level. The Standard utilizes the Internet Protocol which increases the role of terrestial broadcasting even more.

The location characterstic of mobile devices, in combination with the increasing centralized role it plays and the mobility of the modern human will prelude a further democratization of television, where smaller/local broadcasters can take their chance to break through to wider audiences without the conventional television business model and its specifications.

As quoted from the press release:

“This milestone ushers in the new era of digital television broadcasting, giving local TV stations and networks new opportunities to reach viewers on the go,” said Paul Karpowicz, NAB Television Board Chairman and President of Meredith Broadcast Group. “This will introduce the power of local broadcasting to a new generation of viewers and provide all-important emergency alert, local news and other programming to consumers across the nation.”

It would be great if the Mobile DTV Standard will be incorporated in popular smartphones in the near future so that these early adopters have the chance to experience the next step in digital television and in this ‘role’ enhancing the applications to smoothen mass adoption.

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