Qualcomm Adjusting MediaFLO Strategy

By Doug Lung
published

At the Mobile Marketing Forum, MediaFLO USA content head Bob Bradley suggested that MediaFLO was not seeing mainstream uptake as a pay TV service. He saw more potential in using the service for temporary channels and for live event coverage.

Consumers' lack of interest in pay mobile TV could influence broadcasters' business plans for ATSC mobile/handheld services.

The lack of interest in pay service does not mean Qualcomm is not giving up on MediaFLO. Indeed, it plans to nearly double the number of MediaFLO markets by the end of 2009.

Temporary channels and live events have been very successful. A Washington Post article quotes Bradley saying, "People are really drawn to the service as a way to connect to live events" and notes viewership increased by 103 percent when MediaFLO aired footage from the 2008 U.S. Open golf championship at Torrey Pines.

Regarding interactivity and ad-targeting, Bradley said, "Our number one priority is really to validate the platform through credible metrics and we're talking to third-party vendors right now. We're only beginning to understand the new marketing opportunities presented by this new innovative approach."

Doug Lung
Doug Lung

Doug Lung is one of America's foremost authorities on broadcast RF technology. As vice president of Broadcast Technology for NBCUniversal Local, H. Douglas Lung leads NBC and Telemundo-owned stations’ RF and transmission affairs, including microwave, radars, satellite uplinks, and FCC technical filings. Beginning his career in 1976 at KSCI in Los Angeles, Lung has nearly 50 years of experience in broadcast television engineering. Beginning in 1985, he led the engineering department for what was to become the Telemundo network and station group, assisting in the design, construction and installation of the company’s broadcast and cable facilities. Other projects include work on the launch of Hawaii’s first UHF TV station, the rollout and testing of the ATSC mobile-handheld standard, and software development related to the incentive auction TV spectrum repack.
A longtime columnist for TV Technology, Doug is also a regular contributor to IEEE Broadcast Technology. He is the recipient of the 2023 NAB Television Engineering Award. He also received a Tech Leadership Award from TV Tech publisher Future plc in 2021 and is a member of the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society and the Society of Broadcast Engineers.