Broadcast Groups Align for National Mobile Content Service

LAS VEGAS: A consortium of 12 U.S. station groups—including Belo, E.W. Scripps, Fox, Hearst, ION and NBC—are setting up a joint venture to develop a national mobile content service using broadcast spectrum.

The service will allow member companies to provide content to mobile devices, including live and on-demand video, local and national news from print and electronic sources, as well as sports and entertainment programming. The existing spectrum will come from three owned-and-operated station groups—Fox, NBC/Telemundo and ION—and the nine local broadcast groups, which are Belo, Cox, E.W. Scripps, Gannett, Hearst, Media General, Meredith, Post Newsweek and Raycom. The nine local broadcast companies have also formed Pearl Mobile DTV Company as a vehicle for their involvement in the venture.

The JV aims to deliver mobile content to close to 150 million people in the U.S. In addition to tapping into members’ spectrum, the venture will receive content, marketing resources and capital from its parent companies. Details on the management team that will secure additional content, spectrum and distribution partnerships will be made available in due course.