ROK Entertainment Group has launched its 2.5G mobile TV service in Thailand, in conjunction with Thailands leading mobile network operator, AIS. The AIS ROK TV platform is delivered over GPRS and will be marketed by AIS, from today, to its 16 million strong customer base.
AIS is supporting the launch of the service through an integrated marketing and advertising campaign across Thailand, embracing national press advertising and online promotions. AIS aims to generate approximately 1 million subscribers to the service within the next 12 months.
The Mobile TV subscription service which starts at 50 Baht (approximately 0.75 per month) offers up to 20 channels, of which three are free, including Fox News streamed live, as well as music, sport and entertainment channels in both English and Thai.
This latest Mobile TV deployment is part of a growing uptake of TV on mobile phones worldwide. Industry analysts predict Mobile TV will become a multi-billion dollar industry over the next few years as more mobile network operators fulfil the burgeoning demand for live news, sports and video content on mobile phones.
“This is a milestone deal in our deployment of high quality 2.5G mobile TV services worldwide” says ROK Chairman and CEO, Jonathan Kendrick. No longer is Mobile TV confined to those telcos with a 3G offering. As ROK TV over 2.5G actually plays at a faster frame rate than any existing 3G TV service, and is compatible with even more handsets, and as weve created the opportunity for far more people to subscribe to on-demand Mobile TV than just those with a 3G service, we are very excited about the growth of the sector worldwide”.