MOBITV GOES ABROAD

Here's an interesting turn of events: A wireless data service born in the U.S. is headed to Europe, not the other way around. MobiTV launched in the U.K. last week, after more than a year of testing the waters in the U.S. carrier market. Idetic's MobiTV is responsible for much of the buzz around wireless video services, after demonstrating that customers are willing to watch streamed content on tiny handset screens — if presented in the right format. The wrong format apparently was canned video clips repurposed from content running on other outlets. Companies such as RealNetworks and ESPN have been distributing that fare with little success for a few years. But MobiTV found that if they served up live TV, customers would watch. Basically, if you can't come up with a compelling content format specifically for mobile, why not give customers what they're used to? Now it's up to MobiTV to see if its model holds water in Europe, where other types of video content have enjoyed reasonable success. 3G operators have already made a mark with music video download services and other niche content, but live TV streaming hasn't yet taken hold. Wouldn't it just be peachy if MobiTV blew the socks off the British market, though? After years of taking Europe and Asia's leftover wireless data services, it would be comforting to know that the U.S. is still capable of vetting a service before proffering it up for global consumption.