Vodafone launches Sky Mobile TV on 3G network
October 31, 2005
Vodafone UK and British Sky Broadcasting (Sky) announced an agreement to launch a mobile TV service in the UK. From tomorrow, the new service - Sky Mobile TV - will bring a wide choice of channels, including 24-hour news channels plus sport, entertainment and documentary programmes, to all Vodafone live! with 3G customers.
From launch, all Vodafone UK customers with 3G handsets will be able to watch Sky Mobile TV on their phones in areas of 3G coverage. There will be two Sky Mobile TV packages offering a combined total of 19 mobile channels including Sky One, Discovery, MTV, History Channel and Biography Channel. Some channels will be broadcast 'as live' and others will be dedicated 'made for mobile' channels, featuring regularly updated blocks of programming.
As a bonus service to celebrate the launch of Sky Mobile TV, Sky is giving all Vodafone live! with 3G customers the chance to watch Sky Sports' exclusively live coverage of the England cricket team's tour to Pakistan. Starting with the first Test in Multan on 12 November, a special Sky Sports Mobile channel will offer ball-by-ball coverage of all three Test matches and five One-Day Internationals.
Until the end of January next year each Sky Mobile TV pack will be provided free of charge (subject to Vodafone customer fair usage policy). From February 2006 customers will be charged £5.00 per month for each of the Sky Mobile TV packs to which they subscribe. The two Sky Mobile TV packs are:
News, Sport & Factual: Sky News; CNN; Bloomberg; Sky Sports News; At The Races; Discovery Factual; National Geographic Channel; History Channel.
Entertainment & Music: Sky One; Sky Movies; MTV (two channels*); Living tv; Discovery Lifestyle; Nickelodeon; Paramount Comedy; Cartoon Network; Bravo; Biography Channel.
One MTV channel will be available at launch featuring top MTV shows. The second MTV channel and Paramount Comedy will join the line-up later in the year.
Additional mobile channels are likely to join Sky Mobile TV over the coming months.
'This is a highly significant day for both the mobile and television industries,' says Tim Yates, Chief Marketing Officer, Vodafone UK. 'Two industry leaders in Sky and Vodafone have come together to provide the country's first commercially available mobile TV service available on such a wide range of handsets. This is not a trial on a very limited number of phones or a service available on a single make of mobile, but something that all our Vodafone live! with 3G customers can experience. We currently have over 250,000 3G subscribers in the country and 72% 3G population coverage across the UK. Mobile TV will be a mainstream service.'
Richard Freudenstein, BSkyB's Chief Operating Officer, said: 'Sky wants to give customers the flexibility to access our services in the way that they choose and Vodafone is an ideal partner to help make this happen. With Sky Mobile TV, you can now keep up with the latest news, sport and entertainment wherever you are. This is an innovative service that complements our existing pay-TV activities, extends the reach of Sky content and delivers an additional stream of revenue.'
Every 3G handset in Vodafone UK's extensive range can receive mobile TV services. These include the original 3G handsets like the Sony Ericsson v800, as well as the recently announced models for Christmas 2005, such as the Sharp 903, with its 3.2 megapixel camera and ultra clear Aquos screen.
The launch of Sky Mobile TV is part of Sky's drive to give customers flexible and convenient ways to watch its services. To add to the value of a Sky subscription, customers who subscribe to selected Sky digital packages and who have a compatible handset can access news, sport and weather updates on their phone with the 'Sky by mobile' service. As well as its launch tomorrow on Vodafone live!, Sky Mobile TV will soon be available as an additional service on Sky by mobile. This offer will be exclusive to Vodafone 3G customers until 31 March 2006.
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