FLO TV To Add Interactive, VOD Features

Qualcomm Mobile TV Unit Targets Second Half of 2010 for New Features

By Todd Spangler -- Multichannel News, 4/13/2010 4:32:06 PM

Qualcomm's FLO TV mobile-television subsidiary plans to add interactive applications and provide some access to video-on-demand content in the second half of 2010.

On the interactive front, FLO users will be able to click for more information about a show or click to buy an advertised product. The mobile TV service also plans to provide a "catch-up TV" service that will allow popular shows to be stored on FLO-enabled mobile devices for on-demand viewing, as previously reported by Multichannel News.

FLO's dedicated 6 Megahertz of wireless spectrum lets it broadcast 20 mobile channels, or a combination of linear video channels and datacasting. In the space of one mobile TV channel, FLO has the capacity to send out 32 hours of VOD content per day, according to the company, but the service would be limited by the amount of storage on a given device.

The FLO service is offered through AT&T and Verizon Wireless, and FLO TV sells its own direct-to-consumer version of the service. The mobile-TV lineup includes more than a dozen linear channels with content from programmers including ABC, Disney Channel, ABC Family, Adult Swim, CBS, CNBC, Comedy Central, ESPN, Fox, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, MTV, NBC and Nickelodeon.

Also later this year, FLO TV will offer a "pay-per-day" pass, whereas the service is currently available only with a monthly subscription.

"With consumers' mobile entertainment habits evolving rapidly, FLO TV will be integrating its current live linear video with relevant, on-demand content and interactive features that complement the programming viewers are watching in real time," FLO TV president Bill Stone said in a statement.