From Interruption to Engagement

A pilot project has been launched by O2, to test the commercial viability of audio-visual broadcast via the mobile phone.

3G UK reports

O2 and ntl's Broadcast division today announced the UK's first usability trial of multi-channel television to mobile phones, beginning in spring 2005. From nine broadcast transmitters covering 120 square km around Oxford, the trial will see 500 O2 customers provided with a multimedia mobile phone with a built-in digital TV receiver.

Participants will be able to receive 16 TV channels comprising music, sport, news, comedy, soaps, documentary, drama, cartoons and specialist channels, including interactive gaming and shopping. The trial will test consumer demand for mobile TV services and the perceived value of specific types of content as well as likely viewing habits that could shape an eventual service proposition.

The trial will take place in Oxford, and is the first of its kind in the UK. Focusing on the commercial aspects of commercial mobile TV.

This looks to be a very serious undertaking, and will be a significant acid test as to what people want and will pay for via their mobile phone.

Further reading:
Mobile marketing. How to succed in an connected age
Mobile Cultures
Living in a mobile world
Embracing the digital age
CocaCola takes mobile into Spain
How the money goes round. The broadcast Casino
The new bottom line