Mobile TV Defender Explains Reasons: Just 'Cause
from the seems-a-bit-weak dept
We’ve been saying for a while that there are limited opportunities for typical broadcast television on mobile phones, but one big supporter is ABI Research. So, when confronted with those who suggest broadcast TV isn’t mobile’s killer app, we’re told that we’re just “naysayers.” Given a chance to expound on why it will take off, the best he could come up with is: “Consumers can watch TV when sitting in a taxi or train, or in any waiting room.” Of course, they could do that a few decades ago with portable TVs… and that was a pretty big failure. Also, not everyone travels by taxi or train — especially in the US (and in some places where people do travel by train, you probably don’t want to take out expensive looking electronics). There are definitely some people who will want to watch broadcast TV on their mobile phones, but (especially in an age of TiVo), it’s hard to see how it could possibly be considered a “killer app.”