"There have been trials going on in dozens of countries throughout the world and really culminated in the last few months at the World Cup. Many, many subscribers had a chance to test and to trial this and over half of them said if offered, they would take the service at somewhere between 10 and 15 dollars a month, it would be an appealing offering for them."
Carriers like Cingular, Sprint and Verizon….are hoping millions of consumers will want to watch TV on cell phones. Not only will they pay added subscription fees….but it will open the door to a whole new potential pot of ad money as well…
"What I think remains to be seen is, how the advertising fits into the programming. Will people want to be hit with traditional ads or will it be more product placement in the content itself. But certainly there's a lot of interest iin the advertising revenues and how to do that in a way that doesn't get in the way of the enjoyment of subscribers who are ultimately paying for the service."
There are skeptics who doubt that TV on cell phones will attract much of an audience. But the investments are being made…and the services are on their way. Bloomberg Boot Camp, I'm Fred Fishkin.