Mobile television subscribers near Stockholm prefer to watch programs at home, either in the morning or in the evening, according to a survey of mobile TV testers by Scandinavian cellular operator Telia.
Fifty families in Hammarby sjöstad, near Stockholm, were give Nokia N92 cellular phones as part of the two-month DVB-H test that ended at the beginning of December. The handset could receive 13 TV channels and one audio channel.
Two thirds of people watch mobile TV at home, according to the survey. That's interesting because many analysts believe there's no need to watch TV on your phone at home because you have a TV (or multiple TVs). The majority of users surveyed watch mobile TV from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
30-minute viewing
On average, subscribers watched mobile TV for 30 minutes at a time. That's also interesting because many analysts also say people don't want to watch TV on the phone for more than a few minutes.
The most popular shows were SVT and TV4 programs in the morning, followed by news, documentaries, entertainment programs and "series," the Telia release says. In the United States, news also scores high among mobile TV watchers.
As I've written many, many times previously, I think Sprint has the edge in mobile TV because, among other programs, it offers live news from Fox News (the same feed, I think, that appears on regular TV) and ABC News Now, a live news program that often has "soft" news. I'm waiting for CNN or some other reputable network to offer 24 hour/day news.
Want reliable service
Telia says most people expect to pay for mobile TV and they prefer a fixed monthly rate. That's certainly not a surprise. People don't want to be nickel and dimed to death.
"The mobile terminal, picture and sound quality received positive reviews from the test participants," Telia's release says. "Most were pleasantly surprised by the positive TV-watching experience despite the small screen.
"However, if there were problems, for example reception difficulties in one of the channels, the users quickly lost interest. They became disappointed and irritated when something did not work and opted to move on to other things."
That's certainly no surprise, either. If mobile TV doesn't work well, subscribers aren't going to spend much time dealing with it.
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