The public broadcaster is in talks with other firms such as LG, Samsung and Ericsson before its commercial launch around May or June.
NEW DELHI: Having shelved its ambitious car television project, Prasar Bharati is pinning its hopes on mobile TV now.
The public broadcaster, which is conducting a pilot project for mobile TV with Nokia, is in talks with other firms such as LG, Samsung and Ericsson before its commercial launch around May or June.
Chief executive officer B S Lalli said mobile TV is offering four Doordarshan channels now. But, at the time of commercial launch, the number of channels could be increased to 10 or 15.
“It’s a vendor-neutral project and any manufacturer with the capability can join it,” according to Lalli. It’s a Rs 10 crore project, at the moment.
“A DVB-H compatible handset made by any mobile manufacturer, Nokia, LG, Samsung, Sony-Ericsson or Siemens, can receive mobile TV broadcast,” he said. Lalli said the major challenge before the broadcaster is the content part of mobile TV.
“It has to be smart, snappy, and relevant. The same programme may have to re-telecast in a more sharp way,” Lalli said adding the preferences of the urbanite on the move have to be taken into account.
On the high price of the phone being a hurdle for the takeoff of mobile TV, the CEO argued that prices would come down drastically in the next one year or so.
From over Rs 30,000 now, a handset with the mobile TV capability would be priced below Rs 10,000 over the next one year, Lalli stressed.
Prasar Bharti will be “aggressive” in marketing the project, he said.
Till last year, the pubcaster was quite gung-ho about its car TV project. But it failed to become popular with the people. Asked whether the project had been shelved, the CEO admitted “it’s not moving forward” due to technological reasons.
However, Prasar Bharati continues to experiment with newer technologies. It is also planning a Rs 15 crore hi-definition TV (HDTV) project by 2010, just in time for the Commonwealth Games that year in New Delhi.
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