Norway backs DMB for mobile TV

The three biggest broadcasters in Norway, NRK, TV 2 and MTG announced Monday the joint formation of a company to launch mobile TV via DMB this winter.

The new company, Norsk mobil-TV (NMTV), is currently working with terminal manufacturers and telecom operators in preparation of the launch, and said it intends to start its broadcasts in greater Oslo – an area covering 30 per cent of the Norwegian population.

The licence funded Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) said that DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcasting) is seen as the best technology in Norway due to cost efficient coverage of large and rural areas. DMB receivers are also compatible with DAB digital radio that is available to 80 per cent of the population in Norway.

The initial mobile TV offering will consist of nine live TV channels, on demand content and other related services.

Gunnar Garfors, director of developments at NRK, said: “This marks the start of real mobile TV. This is not about ‘mobile phone TV’ it is about mobile TV that can be received by other devices too. Our goal is to make mobile TV widely available, easy to use and free of charge.”

Pricing still seems to the one of the main obstacles, and mobile TV has largely failed to gain traction outside of Japan and North Korea, where the free to air terrestrial TV model has proved popular.