Mobile TV Test Shows Positive Ad Results, Two-Thirds Watched Spots Out-of-Home

Over-the-air, cable and satellite TV may be facing ongoing challenges from digital media that are enabling viewers to avoid commercials or watch video programming from other sources, but an emerging platform -- mobile digital TV -- is showing some promise for advertisers and broadcasters alike.

In an ambitious series of tests organized by the Open Mobile Video Coalition (OMVC), consumers equipped with special cell phones and portable personal computers that are capable of receiving over-the-air broadcast TV signals are yielding encouraging results, especially in terms of advertising exposure and recall. The results of one of those tests found that consumers participating in the cell phone portion of the trials in Washington (DC) watched and recalled a TV commercial while using the hand-held devices to view digital mobile TV content.