The Guardian
trending topics
Close Box

Our news

Yes, it’s true: We are joining GigaOM...


FLO TV To Cut Prices To Boost Mobile TV Usage

  • Comments Comments (View)
  • Text Size: A A

Qualcomm’s service FLO TV has never really taken off. Not only does the mobile TV offering—priced at $15 a month and up—compete with free video increasingly available on cellphones that can stream it, but its reach is limited to a few devices from AT&T (NYSE: T) and Verizon (NYSE: VZ). According to the nytimes.com Bits blog, Qualcomm (NSDQ: QCOM) is hoping this will change when it starts selling the service direct to consumers later this year, when it also plans to cut the price of the service.

Currently, AT&T and Verizon sets the price of FLO TV, which is often bundled with other video services to boost the entire cost of the package to $25 and up a month. FLO TV’s head, Bill Stone, hired earlier this year, acknowledges this is too expensive. FLO TV plans to drop the price down, “probably less that $10 a month” for an annual plan. It is also considering one day passes—priced at perhaps $5 a month, while month-tom-month subscriptions may cost around the $10 mark.

Other plans include to increase its distribution selling a gadget the size of a keychain that would receive TV signals over the air and send them over WiFI to smartphones, including the iPhone, Blackberry devices, and other smartphones without a built in TV receiver. The company is also looking beyond cellphones to other gadgets that could be embedded with a receiver.

As for “why anyone needs linear TV in an on-demand age”, Stone tells Bits, “Live will always exist. If the Laker game is on now, I want to watch it now.” As for current networks, they wouldn’t be able to handle “millions of people” watching video at the same time.

Jun 24, 2009 10:10 AM ET

FLO TV Logo


Posted In: Media & Publishing, TV, Broadcast, Mobile, Companies, Qualcomm

(Page 1 of 1)


The Bestsellers

From iTunes and YouTube to Facebook and Kindle, the most popular content on the web, free and paid.

iTunes Apps (Paid) iTunes Apps (Paid)
1. Where's My Water?
2. Ragdoll Blaster 3
3. Tank Hero
4. Ice Rage
5. Angry Birds
See The Other Bestsellers »

Jobs RSS Job Listings

Social Standing

Which media brands are getting a lift from Tweeters and bloggers right now -- and which are getting panned?

"Sentiment" Scores for All the Companies »

Sponsors

Staff