World Cup marks record mobile TV viewing

The 2010 FIFA World Cup created a new benchmark for mobile viewing in the United States, with ESPN reporting 8.2 million mobile views and 50.4 million page views in the first two days of the event.

June 23 was the most heavily trafficked day across all of ESPN's mobile platforms. On that day, its World Cup 2010 iPhone app clocked in 3.2 million visits and 19.9 million page views, and its mobile website registered 2.4 million visits and 13.7 million page views. Games over the first 13 days of the World Cup (June 11 through 23) generated more than 40 million minutes of viewing across ESPN Mobile TV's three providers (MobiTV, FLO TV, Verizon V CAST); in those 13 days, each match averaged 58,000 unique viewers.

FLO TV executives said the service enjoyed viewership records around its broadcast of ESPN's coverage of all the World Cup matches. Statistics include FLO's highest-ever rated sports telecast for the South Africa vs. Mexico game, when 80 percent of those watching FLO were tuned into the game. Total viewing minutes bounced up 39 percent during the first five days of the World Cup, compared with the previous week. World Cup matches account for three of FLO's top five viewing days.

AT&T Mobile TV, MobiTV, Sprint TV and Verizon V Cast Mobile TV also carried most or all of the ESPN World Cup mobile feed. That mobile has become a viewing medium of choice for World Cup events is in line with predictions made by Nielsen in the weeks leading up to the event. Nielsen reported that 21 percent of global fans said they planned to get information from the Internet via mobile devices, with an additional 9 percent saying they planned to use apps. In the United States, 23 percent of fans said they planned to keep track of the matches on mobile devices.

Broadcasters will not be forced to surrender spectrum for broadband plan

President Barak Obama has signed a presidential memorandum that fast-tracks the public auction of about 500MHz of spectrum that is now controlled by the federal government and private companies. The spectrum, which could come from broadcasters if they choose to give it up, will be used for wireless broadband communications.

The president wants to nearly double the wireless communications spectrum available for commercial use over the next 10 years. His effort is due to expansion of audio and video use of wireless smart phones, like Apple's iPhone and Google's Android.

In signing the memorandum, Obama embraced recommendations made by the FCC in its National Broadband Plan, which was released in March and encourages the expansion of high-speed wireless broadband services. Some parts of the plan will require congressional approval.

The government will seek some of the spectrum from television broadcast companies, who will be asked to voluntarily give up the spectrum in exchange for part of the proceeds from the auction. About 45 percent of the spectrum will come from federal government agencies that will be asked to give up allocations that they are not using or could share.

The president has directed the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to identify federally controlled communications bands that can be made available within five years for exclusive or shared use by commercial companies. Negotiations have been continuing between the White House and federal departments including Defense, Justice, State, Treasury and Energy, which use dedicated government spectrum for official and classified communications.

With the recent conversion of analog broadcast signals to digital, broadcasters returned 108MHz of spectrum to the government for auction. Some of the wireless companies that bought that spectrum have not developed all of it, leaving broadcasters wary of giving up more of their holdings to companies that might simply warehouse it.