Live Mobile TV broadcasts for the first time at an international sporting event

The first results from the Finnish Mobile TV pilot positive

 

Espoo. Finland - Mobile TV broadcasts continue in August at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Helsinki, where the guests of the companies behind the Finnish Mobile TV project will be able to use mobile TV for the first time at an international sporting event. YLE (The Finnish Broadcasting Company) will be providing mobile TV users with a multi-channel package, including a domestic broadcast of the Championships, which includes both YLE TV1 and YLE TV2's coverage of the Championships. In addition, mobile TV users will receive the compilation broadcast for international distribution and five special Championships broadcasts of individual events (running events, field events, race walking and the marathon). Each event can thus be followed without a break from start to finish.

 

During the World Championships in Athletics, the mobile TV users also have access to regular YLE TV1, MTV3, Nelonen, CNN, BBC World and Eurosport TV programs. The real-time TV programs will be watched on the Nokia 7710 smartphone equipped with a special accessory to receive mobile TV broadcasts.

 

The World Championships in Athletics offer an excellent environment to demonstrate use cases for mobile TV, and specifically how new content can be produced for mobile TV devices. For example, the users can watch the games on their way to the stadium or anytime they are away from the action.

 

Digita, Elisa, MTV, Nelonen, Nokia, Sonera and YLE jointly conducted the mobile TV pilot in Finland from 8.3.2005 to 20.6.2005. The pilot, which took place in the Helsinki capital region, tested the feasibility of watching television broadcasts using a mobile device. According to the initial pilot results, mobile TV services proved popular with the participants of the pilot, as 58% said that they believe that mobile TV services will be popular. Familiar TV channels were watched also on a mobile device and the test users watched between 5 to 30 minutes of mobile TV per day. Full results of the Finnish mobile TV pilot will be released 30.8.2005. 

 

DVB-H technology allows television channels to be distributed effectively to users of mobile devices. All television channels and special event channels can be accessed by viewers as live broadcasts cost-effectively irrespective of the number of recipients. It is easy for users to view the channels. Supplementary interactive features are also easy to use on the same mobile TV device.

 

Additional information:

Finland's mobile TV project: www.finnishmobiletv.com

 

Digita Oy is the leading Finnish distributor of radio and television services, and an important developer of data communication networks and network infrastructure. Digita's nationwide organisation ensures the high quality of services 24 hours a day. Digita's customers include television and radio broadcasting companies, as well as mobile and broadband operators. The company's turnover was 89 million euros in 2004 and it employs 370 people. Digita is part of the international TDF Group.

 

Elisa Oyj is a provider of overall telecommunication services, which offers versatile voice and data services, connections to the Internet and content services, telephony solutions, customized communication and ICT solutions, international communication solutions and network operator services.

 

Elisa's revenue for 2004 amounted to EUR 1.36 billion, and by the end of the year the company employed 5,376 people. At the end of 2004, Elisa's networks hosted a total of 1.22 million fixed subscriptions. The number of broadband subscriptions is soaring, amounting to 222,307 in the year-end. There were 1.38 million mobile phone subscriptions in Elisa's network at the end of 2004. Listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange, Elisa has approximately 300,000 shareholders comprising domestic and international institutional investors plus Finnish households.

 

TeliaSonera Finland Oyj, the Finnish profit centre of TeliaSonera, offers products and services under the Sonera brand. TeliaSonera is the leading telecommunications company in the Nordic and Baltic regions.

 

At the end of December 2004 TeliaSonera had 15,411,000 mobile customers (51,359,000 incl. associated companies), 8,312,000 fixed telephony customers (8,943,000 incl. associated companies) and 2,017,000 Internet customers (2,056,000 incl. associated companies).

 

Outside the home markets TeliaSonera has extensive interests in the growth markets in Russia, Turkey and Eurasia. TeliaSonera is listed on the Stockholm Exchange and the Helsinki Stock Exchange. Net sales for January-December 2004 amounted to SEK 81.9 billion (EUR 9.08 billion).  The number of employees was 29,082.

 

Yleisradio Oy (YLE) is a media company engaged in public full service television and radio broadcasting, whose tasks, operation and financing are defined by law. YLE makes programs in mainly Finnish and Swedish but also in Sámi, Romany and sign language. YLE is mainly state-owned, and its operation is principally financed through television fee revenue. YLE's objective is to guarantee Finns equal opportunities to obtain information, have experiences, be entertained and to educate and advance themselves.

 

MTV3 and Subtv channels are viewed every day by three million people in Finland. Together they accounted for 38% of TV viewing in 2004. MTV3 reaches more people than any other media in Finland. Subtv is a cable and digital channel that is growing fast, reaching 800,000 people in Finland daily in January 2005. MTV3 is Finland's biggest advertising media in terms of advertising revenue. Advertisements can be broadcast on MTV3 either nationwide or focused on up to ten coverage areas.

 

Nelonen is part of Swelcom, SanomaWSOY's electronic media sector. Focusing on active city-dwellers, Nelonen holds a strong position among viewers and advertisers. Watched every week by 74% of the population, Nelonen is Finland's third-largest advertising media in terms of net sales.

 

Nokia is a world leader in mobile communications, driving the growth and sustainability of the broader mobility industry. Nokia connects people to each other and the information that matters to them with easy-to-use and innovative products like mobile phones, devices and solutions for imaging, games, media and businesses. Nokia provides equipment, solutions and services for network operators and corporations. www.nokia.com

 

Media Enquiries:

 

Digita

Jaakko Harno, Sales Director

Tel. +358 40 843 613

 

Elisa

Jonas Kronlund, Technology Specialist

tel. +358 50 506 5341

e-mail: jonas.kronlund@elisa.fi

 

TeliaSonera Finland

Pekka Pesari, Development Manager

tel.  +358 400 404086

e-mail: pekka.pesari@teliasonera.com

 

YLE

Jari Lahti, Head of TV New Media

tel. +358 40 544 4326

e-mail: jari.lahti@yle.fi

 

MTV Oy

Juha Mustonen, Assistant Manager

tel. +358 50 5004145

e-mail: juha.mustonen@mtv3.fi

 

Nelonen

Juha-Pekka Louhelainen, Managing Director

tel. +358 9 4545 220

e-mail: juha-pekka.louhelainen@nelonen.fi

 

Nokia Multimedia

Communications

tel. +358 7180 45725

 

Nokia

Communications

tel. +358 7180 34900

e-mail: press.office@nokia.com