/ 10.28.2011 12:00AM
SMPTE 2011: Adding Mobile DTV at a Venue
HOLLYWOOD: Common wisdom suggests mobile DTV should be made as widely available as possible at launch. Yet past attempts at mobile
television service haven’t gone so well, Gustavo
Marra of ATEME USA said. Mobile Fernsehen Deutschland, BT in Great Britain and FLO TV in the United States all went south.
Marra says there’s an opportunity within sports stadiums, because fans want
commentary and information in addition to just watching the game. He suggested
possibly putting a small transmitters within the stadium itself, or utilizing
Wi-Fi.
“When you have control of an environment, i.e., rights, you can have a
complementary, versus a competitive service. There’s no impact in terms of
production costs,” he said.
Consumption of media in the sports arena already exists with big screens,
smartphones, iPads, he said. People are not only watching the game, but
watching the big screen, commenting on Twitter and Facebook.
“You’re advertising to a known audience, so you know what those people like,”
he said.