MediaFLO brings live U.S. Open coverage to mobile phones

MediaFLO USA, the live mobile TV service owned by QUALCOMM, is providing live coverage of the U.S. Open golf championship to mobile phones. The production is a partnership with ESPN Mobile TV and NBC Sports on NBC 2Go.

The MediaFLO service, distributed by both Verizon Wireless and AT&T in 58 major metropolitan areas nationwide, is providing live video coverage of all four days of this year’s U.S. Open, which is being played at Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego, Jun. 12-15.

In all, the MediaFLO service will offer 30 hours of live coverage of the tournament, which will mark the first tournament appearance for number-one player Tiger Woods since April’s Masters Tournament, after which Woods had elective knee surgery.

The footprint for the MediaFLO subscription service, which launched in March 2007, may be expanding soon. Verizon confirmed last week that it is acquiring Alltel, a wireless carrier that serves about 13 million customers in 34 states, in a deal that is valued at $28.1 million.