MobiTV

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MobiTV, Inc. (previously known as Idetic, Inc.) operated as a provider of live and on-demand video delivery solutions, with its headquarters located in Emeryville, California. Founded in 1999 by Paul Scanlan, Phillip Alvelda, and Jeff Annison, Mobi TV was a privately held company supported by venture capital. Charlie Nooney assumed the roles of CEO and Chairman of the company on October 15, 2007.[1]

In 2021, following a bankruptcy declaration, MobiTV's assets were acquired through an auction by TiVo Corporation, a subsidiary of Xperi.[2]

History[edit]

MobiTV was the first company to bring live and on-demand TV to mobile devices[3] through partnerships with numerous content providers and carriers such as Sprint and ESPN.[4] In 2016, MobiTV introduced The MOBITV CONNECT Platform, an IP delivery service which allows cable operators to deliver video to connected retail devices such as Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and select smart TVs, as well as Android and iOS, in place of a traditional set-top box.[5] The company has raised $163.8 million in eight funding rounds from investors including Adobe Ventures, Ally Bank, Gefinor Capital, Hearst Ventures, Leader Ventures, Menlo Ventures, Redpoint, and Oak Investment Partners. In February 2017, they raised $21 million from repeat investors Ally Bank and Oak Investment Partners.[6][7][8]

Products[edit]

Sprint and Sprint TV[edit]

Sprint launched Sprint TV in November 2003, which could stream live video and audio at 15 frames per second using MobiTV's technology.[9][10] The service launched with content from CNN, NBC, Fox Sports, Weather Channel, E! Entertainment, and others.[11] Sprint and MobiTV were recognized with an Engineering Emmy Award for Sprint TV in 2005.[12]

In October 2007, MobiTV and Sprint resigned their deal, in which MobiTV offers Sprint TV, Sprint TV Extra and Sprint TV en Vivo.[13]

In April 2010, MobiTV and Sprint announced the availability of Sprint TV for iPhone users, with access to content from ESPN Mobile, Disney, ABC, NBC, CBS and others.[14][15] Shortly after, MobiTV announced the application surpassed one million downloads on the Apple App Store, which it attributed to the World Cup tournament.[16]

Sprint announced the availability of the new Sprint Spot content application powered by MobiTV in April 2017 for Android device users.[17]

MobiTV application offering[edit]

In November 2003, MobiTV offered a $10 per month live and on-demand television service available to wireless subscribers, first offered via Sprint.[18][19]

MobiTV was the wireless television delivery providers for many major U.S. carriers, including Sprint Nextel, Cingular, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Alltel, as well as Telcel, the largest mobile carrier in Mexico, by 2006.[20][21][22][23]

In 2005, MobiTV signed a deal with satellite operator SES Americom to extend its service to customers in Canada, Europe and Latin America.[24] MobiTV and Orange, a former UK mobile network operator, launched the first multi-channel mobile TV service in the UK in 2005. This was MobiTV's first entry into the European market.[25]

MobiTV and AT&T launched an online TV service offering 20 live and on-demand channels delivered via broadband connections in 2006, expanding on the existing deal between the companies.[26] In 2007, MobiTV worked with AT&T to bring the U-verse IPTV service to mobile phones, and later expanded the service to be available through PCs.[27][28] In other partnerships, MobiTV worked with Microsoft to bring the live television service to Windows Mobile-powered phones and devices in 2006.[29] Also that year, it was reported that MobiTV's technology powered Comcast's mobile television offering in Portland and Boston.[30]

MobiTV's subscriber base surpassed 4 million in 2008, and the company announced a unicast/multicast system for their service, which decreased time lag between changing channels.[31][32]

On June 3, 2009, MobiTV announced that their live television service has upwards of 7 million subscribers, and the service was available on 350 handheld devices and through 20 different carrier networks.[33] MobiTV saw a 49 percent increase in daily viewership in 2009, which it attributed to the growth of live events available to viewers through its service.[34]

At the CTIA wireless conference in October 2010, MobiTV announced that it would be expanding its offerings beyond the mobile device, to television sets and personal computers.[35]

The MOBITV CONNECT Platform[edit]

In July 2016, the Company announced The MOBITV CONNECT Platform. C Spire announced that it was the first US cable operator to sign on to utilize the platform.[36] C Spire launched the new virtual pay TV service to consumers in July 2017.[37]

The service employs a unicast IP delivery platform that features a fully integrated CMS, DRM, Media Player, nDVR, content policy, identity management, billing and authentication.[clarification needed][38]

Charlie Nooney was recognized as a "Digital All Star" by Broadcasting & Cable in February 2017 for his leadership over the product's introduction.[39] Cablefax also recognized the service as the winner in the Connected TV/Smart TV Solution category of their annual Tech Awards.[40]

In December 2017, the National Cable Television Cooperative (NCTC) announced that they selected MobiTV as a partner to provide IP-based video to its members. NCTC President and CEO Rich Fickle noted that "the deal represents NCTC's most advanced all-IP solution to-date". NCTC members DirectLink, Citizens Fiber, USA Communication and Hickory Telephone signed on with MobiTV as of December 2017.[41]

Advertising technology[edit]

MobiTV launched an advertising platform in 2005 that allows local affiliates and advertisers to repurpose national TV ads for local markets.[42]

Mobi4BIZ[edit]

MobiTV launched Mobi4BIZ in 2008, featuring live and on-demand content from CNBC, Bloomberg, Fox Business and TheStreet.com, available on RIM's BlackBerry Bold.[43]

MobiTV2[edit]

MobiTV announces at CES in 2006 that MobiTV2 will be made available to Sprint and Cingular subscribers, featuring improved audio and video quality, and a programming guide.[44]

XM satellite radio application[edit]

MobiTV developed the XM Satellite Radio applications for Alltel and Cingular, which both launched in 2006.[45][46] Cingular partnered with MobiTV and Music Choice to offer mobile radio stations to customers with the Nokia 6620 or Sony Ericsson S710 and Z500a devices.[47][48]

Partnerships[edit]

MobiTV has partnerships with various content providers, broadcasters, and technology companies:

  • Texas Instruments: MobiTV partnered with Texas Instruments in 2012 for delivery of secure high-definition content on multi-screen devices. The integration of MobiTV's DRM solution and Media Playback technology with Texas Instruments’ M-Shield security solution enables secure simultaneous playback of up to six live feeds.[49]
  • Dolby: MobiTV collaborated with Dolby Laboratories integrate Dolby Digital Plus into its established DRM-protected content delivery platform. This delivers surround sound to end-users on a variety of screens, including mobile phones, tablets, PCs, Internet TVs and set-top boxes.[50]
  • Amino: MobiTV teamed with Amino to develop a “TV Everywhere” offering by integrating MobiTV's cloud-based video distribution platform with Animo's existing set-top box. [Citation]
  • NBC Universal: In 2006, NBC Universal offered highlights of the Winter Olympics to all subscribers of MobiTV's mobile television application on the Sprint and Cingular networks.[51] In 2007, NBC Universal announced the launch of an on-demand mobile TV service with MobiTV.[52]
  • IPWireless: MobiTV and IPWireless partnered in 2006 to develop TDtv multicasting technology, which would allow “an infinite number of subscribers to watch the same channel or use the same network bandwidth.[53]
  • Universal Music Group: In 2006, Universal Music Group signed up with MobiTV to make available 1100 music videos to subscribers of the MobiTV mobile television service. This also included four new mobile music TV channels.[54]
  • Jeep: MobiTV announced in 2005 that Jeep launched its own mobile phone channel with MobiTV. Gigaom called this “mobile video as branded entertainment.” [55]
  • MLB Advanced Media: MobiTV and MLB Advanced Media partnered for a three-year exclusive deal to offer MLB game audio to subscribers of Mobi-MLB Gameday Audio. This also included content such as game photos, highlight clips and live scores.[56]
  • ABC News: ABC News offered live news and on-demand news clips to MobiTV subscribers through ABC News Now.[57]
  • ESPN: In 2005, MobiTV teamed up with ESPN to provide sports news, fantasy sports updates, college sports, X Games highlights, and ESPN original content on mobile phones to MobiTV subscribers.[58] In 2008, it was announced that ESPN signed a deal with MobiTV to create a live television mobile channel called ESPN Mobile TV, which replaced the non-linear channel offering.[59]
  • CHUM: MobiTV worked with Canadian media company CHUM to add four new channels to MobiTV's Canadian offering in 2006.[60]
  • Warner Music: In 2007, Warner Music Group made available original video content from its artist roster to MobiTV subscribers.[61]
  • Intel: In 2007, it was announced that Intel entered into a deal with MobiTV to tailor its mobile TV service for Intel hardware, including Intel-based notebooks.[62]
  • Sony BMG Music Entertainment: In 2007, MobiTV and Sony BMG created ad-sponsored channels featuring original video programming for the label's artists.[63]
  • A&E Television Networks: In 2007, the network signed a deal with MobiTV to offer their A&E Mobile and History Channel Mobile channels through the service.[64]
  • Gemstar: In 2008, Gemstar signed a patent-licensing deal with MobiTV's to bring their TV Guide technology to MobiTV's service.[65]
  • Disney: MobiTV added the Disney Channel to their service in 2008, included full length episodes and films.[66]
  • CBS: MobiTV added CBS to their service in 2009, including full episodes and on-demand content.[67]
  • Fuse: Fuse, the alternative TV music channel, began offering music-related content to MobiTV's operator partners in 2005.[68]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Nooney flips to MobiTV as CEO". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2018-02-15.
  2. ^ "TiVo wins MobiTV auction with $18.5M bid". FierceVideo. 12 May 2021. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
  3. ^ "Watching TV on a cell phone". msnbc.com. 2004-10-22. Retrieved 2018-05-05.
  4. ^ Wauters, Robin. "The #WorldCup Drives 1 Million Downloads Of MobiTV iPhone App". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-02-15.
  5. ^ "MobiTV launches virtual pay-TV platform, signs C Spire as first operator client | FierceCable". www.fiercecable.com. Retrieved 2018-02-15.
  6. ^ Staff, Edit (2004-08-15). "Idetic Wins $15M To Expand MobiTV Service". gigaom.com. Retrieved 2018-02-15.
  7. ^ "MobiTV has raised $100 for mobile TV | VentureBeat". venturebeat.com. 2 November 2006. Retrieved 2018-02-15.
  8. ^ Staff, Edit (2006-11-02). "MobiTV Raises Another $30 Million; Adds Hearst and Adobe As Investors". gigaom.com. Retrieved 2018-02-15.
  9. ^ Staff, Edit (2003-11-13). "Sprint Adding TV Service For Cell Phones". gigaom.com. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  10. ^ "Sprint launches Sprint TV". Engadget. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  11. ^ "Sprint launches Sprint TV". Engadget. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  12. ^ Staff, Edit (2005-08-24). "Sprint & MobiTV Win Industry Award". gigaom.com. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  13. ^ Staff, Edit (2007-10-22). "MobiTV Passes 3 Million Mark, Re-signs Sprint Deal". gigaom.com. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  14. ^ Lawler, Ryan (2010-04-12). "MobiTV Launches on the iPhone". gigaom.com. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  15. ^ Tarantola, Andrew. "Sprint TV Brings Cable Networks to the iPhone—Still Insists on Bundling Channels". Gizmodo. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  16. ^ Wauters, Robin. "The #WorldCup Drives 1 Million Downloads Of MobiTV iPhone App". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  17. ^ "Sprint Hones In On Content with New Sprint Spot App". Wireless Week. 2017-04-25. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  18. ^ "Sprint to offer video, 3D games for cell phones". CNET. 2004-01-09. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  19. ^ Staff, Edit (2003-11-13). "Sprint Adding TV Service For Cell Phones". gigaom.com. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  20. ^ "Fred Wilson's fortunes, sexy commenters & latest on Mojungle, MobiTV and Edgeio | VentureBeat". venturebeat.com. 5 December 2006. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  21. ^ Staff, Edit (2006-05-27). "MobiTV Goes With Telcel In Mexico". gigaom.com. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  22. ^ Staff, Edit (2010-10-04). "T-Mobile USA Sticks With Family-Friendly Theme For The New myTouch". gigaom.com. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  23. ^ Staff, Edit (2005-11-17). "Alltel, MobiTV Offer Wireless TV Service". gigaom.com. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  24. ^ Staff, Edit (2005-08-03). "MobiTV Signs Satellite Deal; Moves Into DVB-H". gigaom.com. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  25. ^ Staff, Edit (2005-05-26). "MobiTV Expands to Europe with Orange UK Launch". gigaom.com. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  26. ^ Staff, Edit (2006-09-12). "AT&T Launched Broadband TV Service With 20 Channels". gigaom.com. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  27. ^ Staff, Edit (2007-02-02). "MobiTV Preps for U-verse To Take IPTV Mobile; Early Days". gigaom.com. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  28. ^ Staff, Edit (2007-03-22). "AT&T IPTV Service To Go Online As Well; Extension of MobiTV Deal". gigaom.com. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  29. ^ Staff, Edit (2006-06-30). "MobiTV Expands to Windows Mobile". gigaom.com. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  30. ^ Malik, Om (2006-12-01). "MobiTV behind Comcast FourPlay". gigaom.com. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  31. ^ Staff, Edit (2008-04-14). "MobiTV Hits 4 Million, Upgrades Tech". gigaom.com. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  32. ^ Kendrick, James (2008-08-07). "MobiTV passes 4 million subscriber mark". gigaom.com. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  33. ^ Gannes, Liz (2009-06-03). "Vid-Biz: EchoStar, MobiTV, Buckley". gigaom.com. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  34. ^ "MobiTV sees big jump in viewership". Engadget. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  35. ^ "MobiTV expanding beyond mobile video market". CNET. 2010-10-04. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  36. ^ "C Spire Teams With MobiTV on Next-Gen TV Service | Multichannel". www.multichannel.com. 25 July 2016. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  37. ^ "C Spire Launches IPTV Service | Multichannel". www.multichannel.com. 6 July 2017. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  38. ^ "MobiTV launches virtual pay-TV platform, signs C Spire as first operator client | FierceCable". www.fiercecable.com. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  39. ^ "Broadcasting & Cable Digital All Starts". Broadcasting&Cable. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  40. ^ "Cablefax Digital & Tech Awards Luncheon, March 6 in NYC!". Cablefax. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  41. ^ "NCTC Looks to MobiTV for IP Video". Cablefax. 2017-12-08. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  42. ^ Staff, Edit (2005-12-12). "MobiTV To Sell Video Ads On Cell Phones". gigaom.com. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  43. ^ Staff, Edit (2008-09-10). "@ CTIA: MobiTV Launching Business-Centric Mobi4BIZ On Blackberry Bold". gigaom.com. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  44. ^ Staff, Edit (2006-01-04). "Sprint, Cingular Add MobiTV2 To Roster; Palm Wi-Fi Capability". gigaom.com. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  45. ^ "Alltel Delivers XM Satellite Radio to Phones". TechCrunch. 2006-08-10. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  46. ^ Staff, Edit (2006-11-02). "Cingular Launches Its Music Service; Streaming XM; Yahoo/Napster/eMusic Tie-Ups". gigaom.com. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  47. ^ "Cingular announces MobiRadio streaming music service". Engadget. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  48. ^ Staff, Edit (2006-07-19). "Licensing Deals: MobiRadio; Celebrities-Airborne; Konami-TokyoPop". gigaom.com. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  49. ^ "MobiTV Collaborates with Texas Instruments to Deliver OMAP Platform-Based HD Content Streaming". www.prnewswire.co.uk. 2012-03-01. Retrieved 2018-02-15.
  50. ^ "MobiTV, Dolby boost multi-screen QoE". advanced-television.com. 2013-03-01. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  51. ^ Kramer, Staci D. (2006-02-09). "NBC U Pieces Together Complex Olympics Coverage; Will Have Dedicated Channel On MobiTV". gigaom.com. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  52. ^ Ha, Peter. "NBC Universal And MobiTV Announce Mobile TV On Demand Service". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  53. ^ Staff, Edit (2006-02-09). "MobiTV, IPWireless Partner On TDtv Offering". gigaom.com. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  54. ^ Staff, Edit (2006-01-11). "UMG & MobiTV Offer 24hr Music Videos". gigaom.com. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  55. ^ Staff, Edit (2005-12-16). "Jeep Launches Mobile TV Channel". gigaom.com. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  56. ^ Kramer, Staci D. (2005-03-14). "CTIA: MLB Selects MobiTV As Mobile Video, Radio Distributor". gigaom.com. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  57. ^ Staff, Edit (2005-06-27). "ABC News Extends, Expands Deal With MobiTV for Live News, On Demand". gigaom.com. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  58. ^ Staff, Edit (2005-07-06). "ESPN Video on MobiTV". gigaom.com. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  59. ^ Staff, Edit (2008-01-08). "Mobile Content Bits: ESPN MobiTV; Nokia Answers; Vivendi Games". gigaom.com. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  60. ^ Staff, Edit (2006-08-01). "MobiTV Signs Up CHUM For Canadian Channels". gigaom.com. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  61. ^ Staff, Edit (2007-01-09). "Warner Music To Create Original Artist Content For MobiTV". gigaom.com. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  62. ^ "Intel signs deal with MobiTV". Engadget. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  63. ^ Staff, Edit (2007-06-08). "MobiTV And Sony BMG Team For Artist Sites". gigaom.com. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  64. ^ Staff, Edit (2007-07-23). "A&E Mobile Channels Go to Sprint". gigaom.com. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  65. ^ Staff, Edit (2008-01-15). "MobiTV Licenses Patents For Guide". gigaom.com. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  66. ^ amandan (2008-04-01). "@ CTIA Wire: Day One: Guitar Hero-Blackberry; CondeNet-Verizon; Disney-Mobi; MobiConnect; WaveMarket". gigaom.com. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  67. ^ "MobiTV adds CBS to lineup". CNET. 2009-01-06. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  68. ^ Staff, Edit (2005-11-21). "MobiTV to Carry Fuse". gigaom.com. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
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