Deborah D. McAdams / 08.03.2012 11:49AM
Dyle Phone Hits the Market
MetroPCS becomes first carrier to offer mobile DTV
DALLAS: Mobile
DTV went public today with the public introduction of a Samsung phone with a
built-in receiver. MetroPCS introduced the Samsung Galaxy S Lightray 4G, the
first commercially available smartphone capable of receiving over-the-air
television signals in the form of Dyle TV.
The Lightray is Android-powered, with a 4.2-inch AMOLED screen, a 1 GHz
processor, and the first smartphone from MetroPCS that doubles as a 4G LTE
hotspot. It’s listed for $459 plus tax, with no annual contract service
starting at $40 a month.
Dyle on the Galaxy S Lightray will be available in “select markets at no
additional charge to customers on a MetroPCS LTE service plan,” the provider
said. Dyle is lit up in major cities
across the country, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Atlanta,
Boston, Dallas, Denver, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia, Portland,
Ore.; Kansas City, Mo.; Miami and several others.
Mobile DTV has been in the works for years. Getting receivers into the market
has been one of the biggest obstacles. LG introduced the first standalone receiver
in 2010, available on Amazon for around $250, but the seven-pound device didn’t
permeate the market. The goal has been to get receivers into smartphones. The
device deal between Dyle TV and MetroPCS was announced at the Consumer
Electronics Show in Las Vegas last January.
Dyle TV is the program
brand developed by the Mobile Content Venture, a consortium of networks and
groups representing around 300 TV stations, including NBC, Fox, ION and
network-affiliated stations belonging to Belo, Cox, E.W. Scripps, Gannett,
Hearst, Media General, Meredith, Post-Newsweek and Raycom. The service is
encrypted, available only through a downloadable app, meaning another 1,300 or
so stations around the nation will not be available through the service.
Another mobile DTV consortium, the Mobile500 Alliance, comprises around 427
stations with signals that won’t be available on Dyle. The Mobile500 was formed
in 2010—after MCV was announced at the NAB tradeshow that April—by station
groups excluded from the venture. While both have members belonging to a third,
over-arching group—the 900-station Open Mobile Video Coalition—both have
distinct business plans.
The Mobile500 aimed at launching three or four channels at the end of 2011, but
the goal was not met. It did, however, introduce an iPad receiver dongle at CES
and announce a beta launch of mobile DTV service in Seattle with Fisher
Communications, to take place this year.
~ Deborah D. McAdams