ITV to broadcast on 3

From this autumn, ITV1 - a UK terrestrial TV channel - and ITV Play, ITV’s participation channel, will be streamed live to mobiles on 3’s UK network. Broadcaster ITV has signed an exclusive third generation (3G) mobile licence with 3 for six months.

Charles Allen, chief executive of ITV, said: “We are delighted that we are teaming up with 3 to be the first terrestrial broadcaster in the UK to launch this kind of service. This is a bold new service from ITV and 3 which makes the ambition of fully streamed mobile TV a reality.”

The 3 network has been an early adopter of TV over mobile in the UK. The deal also makes sense for ITV, which has seen its advertising revenues plummet and audience share drop as viewers and advertisers are lured away by the internet and new digital channels. The 3 network has 3.5 million customers in the UK, so the deal could boost ITV's audience reach.

ITV has already partnered with 3 and rivals Orange and O2 to enable subscribers to access some ITV content direct from their operator portals.

More on: www.itv.com

Technorati tags: mobile services, 3G, mobile TV