A trial of mobile television has found that more than three-quarters of people made use of the opportunity to watch TV on their phones, viewing an average of three hours per week.
The Oxford Mobile TV trial was set up in September last year to gauge the level of interest in mobile phone TV viewing. Its interim results showed that those that took part in the trial watched an average 23 minutes per session, tuning in once or twice per day.
They tuned in mainly at home (36 per cent), at work or university (23 per cent) and on the bus (21 per cent). News, soaps, music, documentaries and sport proved to be the most popular programmes.
In total, 76 per cent of the 375 people offered the service made use of it. They were given video-enabled mobile phone handsets and access to TV services was free. When launched commercially, the service is expected to cost between £8 and £10 per month.
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If the technology became widespread, it could have a substantial effect on the viewing schedules. Daytime TV would have to appeal to workers enjoying a TV catch-up during their lunch break, as well as home viewers.
Mobile TV is also expected to drive up the total TV audiences, as most of the time spent watching mobile viewing was in addition to viewing the household TV set.
Some phones currently on the market offer a limited amount of TV viewing but the industry is waiting for Ofcom, the media regulator, to free up some of the broadcast spectrum so that it can introduce the kind of technology used in the trial.
Dr Hyacinth Nwana, managing director of Mobile Media Solutions at Arqiva, which is behind the research, said: “The Oxford Mobile TV trial has proved there is a market for mobile broadcasting and now we are looking to make it happen with the collaboration or the whole industry.”
The final results of the trial are set to be released in the spring.