We've written recently about the race to get television onto mobile phones: one of the things that networks are banking on to help push 3G in the face of the videocall flop.
Well, it looks like Orange have taken first blood:
Orange today announced the launch of the UK's first TV-on-the-mobile service – Orange TV – allowing customers to watch news, sport and entertainment programmes on their phone.
Running over Orange's high-speed 3G network, the service – which will be available from next week – has an initial line-up of 9 channels including ITN News, CNN, Cartoon Network and extreme sports.
All of the channels will be streamed over the Orange 3G network and are available through the new Orange TV section on Orange World. Customers need to be in 3G coverage to use the service.
It's going to cost subscribers £10 a month, and - for the moment at least - they'll only be able to use the Nokia 6680
I haven't seen this in operation, so I'm holding judgment back. I have seen DVB-H transmissions to mobiles working (and quite well), though, and I can't imagine that streaming over 3G is going to get the best quality images.
Can mobile TV really save the skins of networks?
