ESPN to enter US mobile market
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SAN FRANCISCO - The sports media company ESPN will introduce a branded mobile service and cell phones next year in the U.S., becoming the latest in a growing number of companies entering the mobile market on the strength of established audiences.
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Walt Disney Co.'s  ESPN  cable sports channel said on Thursday it will shut down its  Mobile ESPN wireless telephone business operations later this  year and aims to license the brand to existing providers.
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Walt Disney Co.'s ESPN cable  sports channel said on Thursday it will shut down its Mobile  ESPN wireless telephone business operations later this year and  aims to license the brand to existing providers.
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(InfoWorld) - The biggest U.S. cellular company, AT&T's Cingular division, will launch mobile TV using Qualcomm's MediaFLO technology later this year. Starting in the fourth quarter, Cingular will offer multiple channels of live TV with the technology, which will use a dedicated network and leave carriers' valuable cellular frequencies alone. Verizon Wireless, the country's second-largest mobile operator by subscribers, hasÂ already committed to using MediaFLO. The announcement capped several days of good news for MediaFLO as the mobile industry gathers at the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona. With its TV system, Qualcomm is going up against some of the same rivals it challenged with CDMA (Code-Division Multiple Access), its alternative to the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication) standard. Rival Nokia and many other vendors areÂ pushing another mobile TV technology, DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting-Handheld). Not to be left out, Qualcomm also is developing a chip that will support both technologies as well as others. Also Monday, Qualcomm announced completion of a second trial of MediaFLO with British Sky Broadcasting Group. Last week, the mobile technology company unveiled programming deals with the U.S. TV networks CBS, NBC and Fox as well as cable entertainment company MTV and sports network ESPN. The service is designed to work like traditional TV, with shows that go out to all subscribers at the same time. The signals come from a tower that can cover most of a city, and channels can be dedicated to local programming. Both MediaFLO and DVB-H require handsets with special chips in addition to whatever cellular system they use. In the U.S., Qualcomm's MediaFLO division is building a network that uses frequencies that had been dedicated to analog TV. The TV stations are gradually being moved off the spectrum. Cingular has not yet determined how many channels will be offered on its service, but spokesman Mark Siegel said at least two will be exclusive to the carrier. Cingular's MediaFLO service will also include audio offerings and a datacasting application for real-time information and entertainment. It will complement the carrier's current video-on-demand services. Pricing has not been set, and Siegel would not comment on handsets for the service. Verizon, which committed to using MediaFLO in late 2005, plans to launch a MediaFLO service by the end of March. It had earlier predicted the service would be up by the end of 2006. Verizon has identified two handsets for its service, the Samsung Electronics SCH-u620 and LG Electronics VX9400. At launch, Verizon expects the MediaFLO network to reach about 75 million people, spokesman Jeffrey Nelson said.
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The boards of both the US telecoms giant Sprint Corp and mobile phone operator Nextel Communications Inc have announced their intention to create the third largest mobile operator in the US, in a deal worth $35 billion.
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ESPN Mobile plans to announce today that it will broadcast full-length college football games on its wireless phones.
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Walt Disney Co's sports network ESPN is  buying cricinfo, the world's largest specialist cricket Web  site, as it expands beyond its traditional strengths of  American football, basketball, baseball and Nascar.
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The market for content and services on  cell phones is expected to grow to $150 billion by 2011, as  access to the Web while on the move becomes easier and faster,  research from Informa Telecoms & Media showed.
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Walt Disney Co.'s DIS.N ESPN  sports television network is launching its own brand of mobile  telephone service in a deal with Sprint Corp. FON.N catering  to sports fans with news and game highlights on a  next-generation network, the companies said on Wednesday.
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Walt Disney Co&#39;s sports network ESPN is  buying cricinfo, the world&#39;s largest specialist cricket Web  site, as it expands beyond its traditional strengths of  American football, basketball, baseball and Nascar.
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The Walt Disney Co.  will spend about $30 million to shut down its Mobile ESPN wireless telephone services, but remains "excited" about its family-oriented Disney Mobile phone service, Disney Chief Financial Officer Tom Staggs said on Monday.
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Mobile multimedia content will get its own nationwide network in the United States by 2006 if an $800 million project by Qualcomm goes according to plan.
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ESPN is closing down its cell phone company for sports fans after less than a year, planning instead to forge deals with other wireless operators to offer Mobile ESPN's multimedia content, the majority-owned subsidiary of Walt Disney Co. announced Thursday.
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Walt Disney Co.'s ESPN network will  soon announce new licensing agreements for its wireless phone  content, the network's chief said on Wednesday.
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In a first for the U.S.  market, the struggling Mobile ESPN network is offering live and  complete football games for viewing on cell phones.
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ESPN is relaunching its shuttered cell phone service through Verizon Wireless, this time delivering its flashy feed of sports scores, news and video highlights through a top industry player instead of competing for subscribers with its own full-blown wireless brand.
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VODAFONE faces losing its last opportunity to gain an independent foothold in the US as the bidding war for Sprint, Americaâs top US mobile operator, heats up.