AT&T To Launch Mobile TV In May

Telco to Carry Eight Linear Channels From Qualcomm’s MediaFLO

By Todd Spangler -- Multichannel News, 3/27/2008 2:59:00 PM

AT&T will launch a mobile TV service through Qualcomm’s MediaFLO USA subsidiary in May, at least five months after it originally expected.

The AT&T Mobile TV with FLO service will include full-length television content and sporting events on eight channels: CBS Mobile, Comedy Central, ESPN Mobile TV, FOX Mobile, MTV, NBC 2GO, NBC News2Go and Nickelodeon. It also will include two “exclusive channels,” which the company said will be announced soon.

AT&T did not provide pricing for the service or for the two mobile TV handsets it will offer from LG Electronics and Samsung Electronics.

When AT&T announced its deal with Qualcomm in February 2007, the telco said it expected to launch mobile TV service in the fourth quarter of 2007. The company later said it would roll it out “as early as possible,” with AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel attributing the delay on to the need to “make sure the user experience is absolutely optimal.”

Verizon Wireless also carries MediaFLO USA’s channels in its V Cast Mobile TV service, which it launched in March 2007. Verizon charges $13 to $25 extra per month for mobile TV packages that include the MediaFLO USA channels.

AT&T’s mobile TV service initially will be available only on two devices: LG’s Vu, which includes a 2.0-megapixel camera, and Samsung’s Access, whose features include external stereo speakers.