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View Full Version : O Launch Mobile TV Streaming!



Ben
20th May 2005, 12:28 AM
http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=4576546


Orange is to show television programmes on its phones in the first project of its kind in the UK, the company announced today.

The mobile phone giant’s Orange TV will feature news, sport and entertainment.

Customers will pay a £10 monthly subscription to view nine launch channels which include ITN News, CNN, Cartoon Network and extreme sports.

Dedicated Big Brother and Celebrity Love Island channels will also be available for viewing on the Nokia 6680’s 3.7cm by 4.4cm screen.

The service will be launched next week on the company’s high-speed 3G network. It will initially be available only on the Nokia 6680, with further handsets to follow throughout the year.

Alexis Dormandy, Orange chief marketing officer, said other channels would soon be available.

“Our customers will be the first in the UK to watch TV on their mobiles, be that CNN or 24-hour coverage of the Big Brother house,” he said.

“This signals the start of a huge new opportunity for our customers, broadcasters, handset manufacturers and production companies.”

Orange, which is owned by France Telecom, launched a similar television service in France in December and in Romania earlier this year.

The full list of channels available from next week’s launch is as follows: ITN News, CNN, Big Brother, Celebrity Love Island, Comedy Time, Cartoon Network, Toon World, Fashion TV and extreme sports. Other channels will be available in the coming weeks.

Orange TV will be available free for a trial three-month period to customers with Nokia 6680s. It will cost £10 per month thereafter. Customers must be within 3G coverage to use the service.

The official press release is around too, but I think this article has it covered. Very very exciting stuff - if O can meet the demand then it'll be an excellent filler until mobile digital TV broadcasts take off. Sounds like good content at a good price. It can also be assumed that the launch of this service will coincide with the launch of the Orange version of the 6680 imaging smartphone.

miffed
20th May 2005, 08:18 AM
Interesting !

Imagine that if they were able to launch a relatively cheap 3G payg handset - and have a this deal available to PAYG customers (£10pm for unlimited use ) then Orange would become the dominant force in 3G

This will really appeal to the "Chavs" - TV on your mobile for the price of a days worth of "White Lightening"

Annoying that Hutch have been playing with 3G for over two years and still haven't come up with something like this - although I imagine their response will be to compete the best way they know how (i.e. launch a similar service & undercut Orange in price ) , so maybe my LG might get to come out of the drawer after all! , I suspect Three's effort (should they choose to compete) will be around £5 per month , worth a look I suppose

3GScottishUser
20th May 2005, 08:23 AM
Ah..... but for the £5/month you'll probably get lots of buffering, stuttering and crashes...pretty much like the 3 video streaming on offer presently.