Broadcasters Align for New Mobile DTV Push

A coalition of 29 broadcast television station groups formally announced that it will work to develop and implement a nationwide mobile digital TV service.

The Mobile 500 Alliance is the second such group to emerge from the broadcasting ranks. Last April at the NAB Show, nine TV station groups and three networks -- Fox, NBC and Ion -- said that they would join forces to bring mobile DTV to market. That group, the Mobile Content Venture, is still working on a definitive agreement. Both the Mobile 500 and MCV would use the mobile DTV standard promoted by the Open Mobile Video Coalition and adopted by the Advanced Television Systems Committee. The goal of the Mobile 500 is to come up with a business model for a national service and to take whatever steps are necessary to make the model reality, said Colleen Brown, CEO of Fisher Communications and the designated spokesperson for the Mobile 500.