Media Broadcast gets Austrian DVB-H licence

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German broadcast services provider Media Broadcast has been awarded a licence from Austrian media authority KommAustria for the development and operation of a nationwide DVB-H broadcasting network for mobile television.

The company was best able to fulfil the specific criteria prescribed in the commercial television law, as KommAustria explained in Vienna. This included a sustainable economic concept; a swift and, as far as possible, nationwide coverage including towns outside main urban areas; the inclusion of broadcasting operators’ expertise; a concept for promoting deployment of portable terminals; and a broad channel variety.

The Media Broadcast consortium includes mobile phone companies Hutchison and One, which will market the mobile TV package to end consumers. Negotiations with other mobile phone companies are ongoing. Public broadcaster ORF’s technical subsidiary ORS also took part in the bidding for the licence, along with the consortium Mobile TV Infrastruktur, which is backed by Austrian publishing houses and media managers as well as German radio and publishing group Oschmann.

Media Broadcast will initially introduce its offer on June 1 in the cities of Vienna, Salzburg, Innsbruck and Klagenfurt where the European soccer championships will be held as well as in other major Austrian cities, covering 40% of the population. By year-end the reach should rise to 55%. The package comprises 15 television channels, including national TV channels ORF 1, ORF 2 and ATV, along with four radio stations.

French broadcasting network operator TDF acquired Media Broadcast in January from German telco Deutsche Telekom. The Bonn-based company also operates the DVB-H broadcasting network in Germany for mobile TV, which will likewise be launched in June in time for the soccer European Championships.

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