Mobile 3.0 wins German licence, opts for DVB-H


Mobile 3.0, a joint venture between Mobiles Fernsehen Deutschland (MFD) and Neva Media, has won the nationwide mobile TV licence in Germany and chosen the DVB-H standard to roll out its service. A decision has been taken by the joined directors of the state media authorities and has to be approved by all the regional authorities. The consortium hopes to start broadcasting in time for the Euro 2008 football championship.
Introduction of the new service will be built around the live mobile TV coverage of the games. The network will be built by T-Systems Media & Broadcast. Mobile 3.0 brings together both the public and the main commercial broadcasters, ARD and ZDF, RTL, Vox, Sat.1, Pro Sieben, N-TV and N24. It will also include radio stations Digital 5, Big Buddy and Kick FM, as well as additional audio services.
The alternative consortium of mobile operators T-Mobile, Vodafone and O2 was the most serious competitor for Mobile 3.0. MFD is majority owned by Naspers of South Africa and already operates a mobile TV service using the DMB standard in some areas of the country. Neva Media is a joint venture comprising publishing houses Burda and Holtzbrinck, as well as media managers Paulus Neef, Bernd Curanz and Christiane zu Salm.

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