Alas, poor Lobster… Virgin Mobile's DAB TV service to be axed
Virgin Mobile’s DAB-based mobile TV service is set to be axed, after business partner BT decided to can its BT Movio division. It’s the first example of rival broadcast mobile TV standards suffering after the EU decided to endorse the DVB-H platform earlier this month.
The service’s demise won’t be lamented by many people – earlier this year, the Guardian claimed it had only signed up 10,000 users, and it only ever worked on one handset, the Lobster 700TV. This is despite the fact that Virgin continued to expand it, signing deals with the likes of Channel 4 and ITN News during its lifetime.
I bet this isn’t the last we’ll hear of Virgin Mobile and TV, mind. Now that the operator is owned by cable provider Virgin Media, there’s clear crossover potential in the future. In the meantime, BT Movio says it’s discussing a timescale with Virgin in which to shut the service down.
(via Guardian Unlimited)
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