Capitol Broadcasting Company and WRAL-TV continued their mobile DTV broadcasting leadership in New York City recently. On October 15, 2009, CBC New Media Group’s Sam Matheny was part of a panel discussion at the HD World Show and discussed the rollout and applications for mobile DTV and what it will mean for the broadcast industry.
News Over Wireless General Manager Sam Matheny |
The panel, entitled Mobile DTV, was moderated by Anne Schelle, executive director of the Open Mobile Video Coalition and included the following other participants.
- John Taylor, vice president, Public Affairs and Communications
- Rich Redmond of the Harris Corporation
- Brett Jenkins, director of technology and strategy development, Ion Media Networks
Taylor showcased LG’s new combination Mobile DTV/DVD player scheduled to go on sale early in 2010.
USB receivers for laptops and mobile phones were also demonstrated as products that should be on the market in the next couple of years.
Redmond talked about the cost to deploy mobile DTV and the number of stations that were already on the air.
Matheny and Jenkins represented the broadcasters and focused on their experience with launching mobile DTV, including coverage and how well the signal can be received.
Matheny also highlighted WRAL’s plans for mobile DTV on Capital Area Transit buses in Raleigh. He used slides from the announcement made earlier this year and talked about the unique opportunity to engage and inform riders and how the city views this as a great way to improve the rider experience. He also talked about the additional advertising opportunities and how SMS can be used to solicit feedback and introduce interactivity. The real emphasis though was on the ability to gain viewers and extend the WRAL brand using this new mobile capability.
The panel spoke to a full house with well over 100 people in attendance. The audience was very much engaged and the session wrapped up with an extended session of Q&A.
Following the panel an attendee from the New York City Limousine and Taxi Commission came over to discuss how to put live mobile DTV in all of the city’s cabs. He said told Matheny that they have 13,000 screens and 800,000 viewers every day.
This marks the beginning of what should be an exciting conversation as more people begin to learn about the power and potential of mobile DTV.
Thanks to CBC NMG’s Jodi Glusco for this capcom story.
