Motorola, Nokia Ally On Mobile TV Interoperability

Motorola and Nokia have agreed to work together to allow users to see television broadcasts through their mobile phones by collaborating on Digital Video Broadcast open standards, the companies said Monday.

DVB-H technology enables the TV services to broadcast to mobile device with reduced battery consumption. The companies said up to 50 TV channels can be delivered over one network.

The two companies together sell more than 55 percent of all the mobile phones in the world and they are also large manufacturers of the networks for mobile communications.

Interactive mobile marketing company Vibes Media CEO Alex Campbell believes that once live TV reaches "critical mass" mobile marketing and advertising could integrate into the live content.

"During the broadcast you might get a text message to determine the outcome of the show," Campbell said, while at the Billboard Mecca at CTIA Wireless IT & Entertainment 2006 in Los Angeles. "You also might get a reminder to tune into a sporting event on your mobile phone that would remind you to tune in."By 2010, the mobile TV market should reach more than 50 million DVB-H enabled mobile devices globally, according Nokia citing research from Informa.

As those handsets become available, Juniper Research estimates mobile TV services will reach nearly $6 billion in 2010 and $11.7 billion by 2011, up from $94.57 million this year.