ABSTRACT
MobileTV, sometimes considered an eternal failure in mobile communications, finds itself at another crossroads in the face of mobile IP-based services. There were initially high expectations for MobileTV: the combination of two well-established media innovations—TV and the mobile phone—was considered bound to succeed; 1 however, expectations regarding broadcasting to mobile devices have never been realized. 2 Furthermore, IP-based mobile services, including those with audiovisual content, are gaining momentum, 3 and MobileTV has to adjust to these ongoing changes before even becoming established itself. Comparing Germany (which has a history of several Digital Video Broadcasting–Handheld [DVB–H] failures and currently has no DVB–H service) with Austria (which has a largely successful DVB–H service), we evaluated the future of MobileTV from various viewpoints.
