ION to Upgrade for Mobile DTV in 10 Markets

NEW YORK: ION Media Networks announced today its plan to upgrade stations in 10 of its 59 TV markets for Mobile DTV transmission. The work is schedule for the first quarter of this year. ION did not say when the stations would launch Mobile DTV service.

ION is one of the main forces behind the Open Mobile Video Coalition. Its chief, Brandon Burgess, is also head of the OMVC. The media company is also a member of the Mobile Content Venture consortium, which announced deals this week with MobiTV and encryption specialist Nagra-Kudelski.

ION said it would have its top 10 markets “Mobile-TV-ready in within 60 days, establishing mobile transmission capability in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Dallas, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Boston and Detroit.”

Each ION station will run dual mobile streams, in accordance with the company’s partnership with the MCV. One will be the main ION TV network; the other, ION’s children’s net, Qubo.ION Television reaches around 98 million TV households through the media company’s 59 owned-and-operated TV stations.
-- Deborah D. McAdams

See . . .
January 5, 2011
: “MCV Lays Groundwork for Subscription Model, 2011 Launch”
Mobile Content Venture announced two deals today that suggests the group’s intention to charge for mobile over-the-air content.