We fell short of our Fall Fundraiser goal of 2,500 donations. Help us catch up ⏩ Give Now

Coming to a teeny screen near you

Stacey Vanek Smith May 2, 2008
HTML EMBED:
COPY
FLO TV show on a cell phone. flotv.com

Coming to a teeny screen near you

Stacey Vanek Smith May 2, 2008
FLO TV show on a cell phone. flotv.com
HTML EMBED:
COPY

TEXT OF STORY

Renita Jablonski: This weekend, AT&T will launch a mobile TV service in parts of the U.S. Now car potatoes can watch everything from ESPN to CNN on their cell-phones.
The service will cost about $15 a month. Stacey Vanek-Smith reports.


Voice of a comedian: There’s an awful lot going on in the world right now. I’m not going to lie to you. It’s mostly bad things. (audience laughs)

Stacey Vanek-Smith: Comedy Central is one of nearly a dozen channels that will be offered on AT&T Mobile TV. Porter Bibb with Media Tech Capital Partners says small screen programming has a huge future.

Porter Bibb: There’s no question. Mobile TV is going to hit very big, particularly with the iPhone, because of the good definition on the screen.

Small-business owner Tim Brown makes time-lapse recording software. He’s in the market for a new cell phone and says video capabilities will be a huge selling point.

Tim Brown: I can imagine watching video podcasts and saving a video of my kid, or I make lots of short, 30-second cool videos, which would look really good on there, because you could just show it to people.

Networks are getting excited about the possibilities, too. They’ve been developing “mobi-sodes,” three- to five-minute shows, especially designed for mobile viewing.

I’m Stacey Vanek-Smith for Marketplace.

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.