CES: Mobile TV makes it mark

LAS VEGAS--The biggest gadget show in the world, the Consumer Electronics Showcase, is a citywide show floor for gigantic LCD TVs, the newest concepts in computers and even the latest generation of cellphones. But this year it was also about mobile TV.

Sunday, Qualcomm unveiled its much-touted MediaFLO multicast wireless video network under the banner of Verizon Wireless’ new V Cast Mobile TV service to much fanfare and for the first revealed its content partners. Viacom’s MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central; News Corp.’s Fox Network, Fox News and Fox Sports; CBS and NBC will round off the starting line-up of MediaFLO stations with more content deals to come. Qualcomm also announced to handsets for the new network, two large-screen devices from Samsung and LG. The details of the service, however, were still vague, with Verizon Wireless not yet ready to commit to a pricing structure—beyond saying it would be affordable—or Qualcomm willing to reveal which of its markets the service would be available in, until the service officially launches this quarter. Qualcomm, however, has confirmed the service is up and running in both Chicago and Las Vegas.

What’s most surprising, however, is the format of the programming itself. Qualcomm and other mobile broadcast proponents have long said that customers want to watch unadulterated TV on their mobile phones, not edited or reformatted TV made specifically for a mobile device. But MediaFLO seems to be doing just that—at least in part. Qualcomm’s content partners will not be streaming their channels directly over the FLO system as they send their feeds to cable and satellite providers and TV affiliates across the country. Instead they are offering what Verizon Wireless Chief Marketing Officer John Stratton said was the “best of television programmed specifically for the mobile customer.”

While MediaFLO will still air entire programs, it won’t necessarily air all of the programs from its content providers or in the same format. Fox Interactive, for instance, will air popular shows like “Prison Break” and “24”, but Fox Sports—a 24-hour cable network—will air only a few hours daily of sports content optimized specifically for the mobile phone and its Web site. Fox and Qualcomm were also fuzzy on whether each of the Fox stations would have their own dedicated channel or would share space over the same channel. Meanwhile, in its deal with Viacom, Qualcomm will broadcast three separate channels for Comedy Central, MTV and Nickelodeon. Viacom has committed to show MTV’s “Real World,” Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show with John Stewart” and Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants,” but they were unclear how the remaining programming would be filled—whether through repeating those shows and other content throughout the day or through direct feeds of the cable broadcasts themselves.

Qualcomm and VZW aren’t the only companies making mobile TV noise at CES, though. Modeo is expected to unveil its long-awaited service in the New York market on Monday, using an alternate technology called Digital Video Broadcast Handheld. Modeo, however, has not yet announced a carrier partner.