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Vodafone partners up with Sky for mobile satellite TV

Tue, 01 Nov 2005

Satellite broadcaster BSkyB and mobile phone giant Vodafone are to launch a TV service for mobile phones in the UK.

Sky Mobile TV will allow Vodafone customers to view some of BSkyB's TV content on their third generation (3G) handsets.

It hopes that as television sets in our living rooms get larger, the reverse will happen outside the home at Christmas with the mass adoption of moving pictures on tiny screens.

Rival mobile firms O2 and Orange have already launched trial TV services in the UK and France. Users can choose from either news or one based on entertainment and music.

BSkyB’s chief operating officer Richard Freudenstein told the BBC "This is an innovative service that complements our existing pay -TV activities, extends the reach of Sky content and delivers an additional stream of revenue."

While Vodafone UK’s chief marketing honcho said, "This is a highly significant day for both the mobile and television industries."

Vodafone's Sky Mobile TV service offers two packages broadcasting a combined total of 19 channels carrying news, sports, music and documentary programmes.

Any subscriber to Vodafone's 3G networks will be able to access television pictures from an initial selection of 19 channels, bringing shows such as Football Icon from Sky One, film news and interviews from Sky Movies and live cricket coverage from England's tour of Pakistan from Sky Sports.

Other channels on offer include Sky News, CNN, the National Geographic Channel, Paramount Comedy and Living TV. Vodafone's existing 3G subscribers, which numbered 250,000 in June, will be able to watch the television pictures on their existing handsets at no extra cost until the end of January.

Five channels will be broadcast live - Sky News, CNN, Bloomberg, Sky Sports News and horse racing channel At the Races, while the others will be "made for mobile" versions of their broadcast siblings.

However, some of Sky One’s most popular programmes, such as 24 and Weeds, won’t be available to watch because of difficulties obtaining mobile rights.

Freudenstein pointed out, "This is a developing technology, so some of the channels do not have rights at this stage."

The service will be free to Vodafone customers until 31 January 2006, after which date it will cost £5 a month.
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