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MobiTV, Inc.(previously known asIdetic, Inc.) operated as a provider of live and on-demand video delivery solutions, with its headquarters located inEmeryville, California.Founded in 1999 byPaul Scanlan,Phillip Alvelda, andJeff Annison,Mobi TV was a privately held company supported byventure capital.Charlie Nooney assumed the roles of CEO and Chairman of the company on October 15, 2007.[1]

In 2021, following abankruptcydeclaration, MobiTV's assets were acquired through an auction byTiVo Corporation,a subsidiary ofXperi.[2]

Therefore, the company, as such, no longer exists.

History

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MobiTV was one of the first companies to bring live and on-demand TV to mobile devices[3]through partnerships with numerous content providers and carriers such asSprintandESPN.[4]In 2016, MobiTV introduced The MOBITV CONNECT Platform, anIPdelivery service which allows cable operators to deliver video to connected retail devices such asRoku,Apple TV,Amazon Fire TVand selectsmart TVs,as well asAndroidandiOS,in place of a traditionalset-top box.[5]The company has raised $163.8 million in eight funding rounds from investors including Adobe Ventures,Ally Bank,Gefinor Capital, Hearst Ventures, Leader Ventures,Menlo Ventures,Redpoint,andOak Investment Partners.In February 2017, they raised $21 million from repeat investors Ally Bank andOak Investment Partners.[6][7][8]

Products

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Sprint and Sprint TV

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Sprintlaunched Sprint TV in November 2003, which could stream live video and audio at 15 frames per second using MobiTV's technology.[9][10]The service launched with content fromCNN,NBC,Fox Sports,Weather Channel,E! Entertainment,and others.[11]Sprint and MobiTV were recognized with anEngineering Emmy Awardfor Sprint TV in 2005.[12]

In October 2007, MobiTV and Sprint resigned their deal, in which MobiTV offers Sprint TV, Sprint TV Extra and Sprint TV en Vivo.[13]

In April 2010, MobiTV and Sprint announced the availability of Sprint TV foriPhoneusers, with access to content fromESPNMobile,Disney,ABC,NBC,CBSand others.[14][15]Shortly after, MobiTV announced the application surpassed one million downloads on theApple App Store,which it attributed to theWorld Cuptournament.[16]

Sprint announced the availability of the new Sprint Spot content application powered by MobiTV in April 2017 for Android device users.[17]

MobiTV application offering

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In November 2003, MobiTV offered a $10 per month live and on-demand television service available to wireless subscribers, first offered via Sprint.[18][19]

MobiTV was the wireless television delivery providers for many major U.S. carriers, including Sprint Nextel, Cingular, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Alltel, as well asTelcel,the largest mobile carrier in Mexico, by 2006.[20][21][22][23]

In 2005, MobiTV signed a deal with satellite operatorSES Americomto extend its service to customers in Canada, Europe and Latin America.[24]MobiTV andOrange,a former UK mobile network operator, launched the first multi-channel mobile TV service in the UK in 2005. This was MobiTV's first entry into the European market.[25]

MobiTV andAT&Tlaunched an online TV service offering 20 live and on-demand channels delivered via broadband connections in 2006, expanding on the existing deal between the companies.[26]In 2007, MobiTV worked with AT&T to bring theU-verseIPTV service to mobile phones, and later expanded the service to be available through PCs.[27][28]In other partnerships, MobiTV worked withMicrosoftto bring the live television service toWindows Mobile-powered phones and devices in 2006.[29]Also that year, it was reported that MobiTV's technology poweredComcast's mobile television offering in Portland and Boston.[30]

MobiTV's subscriber base surpassed 4 million in 2008, and the company announced a unicast/multicast system for their service, which decreased time lag between changing channels.[31][32]

On June 3, 2009, MobiTV announced that their live television service has upwards of 7 million subscribers, and the service was available on 350 handheld devices and through 20 different carrier networks.[33]MobiTV saw a 49 percent increase in daily viewership in 2009, which it attributed to the growth of live events available to viewers through its service.[34]

At theCTIAwireless conference in October 2010, MobiTV announced that it would be expanding its offerings beyond the mobile device, to television sets and personal computers.[35]

The MOBITV CONNECT Platform

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In July 2016, the Company announced The MOBITV CONNECT Platform.C Spireannounced that it was the first US cable operator to sign on to utilize the platform.[36]C Spire launched the new virtual pay TV service to consumers in July 2017.[37]

The service employs a unicast IP delivery platform that features a fully integrated CMS, DRM, Media Player, nDVR, content policy, identity management, billing and authentication.[clarification needed][38]

Charlie Nooney was recognized as a "Digital All Star" byBroadcasting & Cablein February 2017 for his leadership over the product's introduction.[39]Cablefaxalso recognized the service as the winner in the Connected TV/Smart TV Solution category of their annual Tech Awards.[40]

In December 2017, the National Cable Television Cooperative (NCTC) announced that they selected MobiTV as a partner to provide IP-based video to its members. NCTC President and CEO Rich Fickle noted that "the deal represents NCTC's most advanced all-IP solution to-date". NCTC members DirectLink, Citizens Fiber, USA Communication and Hickory Telephone signed on with MobiTV as of December 2017.[41]

Advertising technology

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MobiTV launched an advertising platform in 2005 that allows local affiliates and advertisers to repurpose national TV ads for local markets.[42]

Mobi4BIZ

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MobiTV launched Mobi4BIZ in 2008, featuring live and on-demand content fromCNBC,Bloomberg,Fox BusinessandTheStreet,available onRIM'sBlackBerry Bold.[43]

MobiTV2

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MobiTV announces at CES in 2006 that MobiTV2 will be made available to Sprint andCingularsubscribers, featuring improved audio and video quality, and a programming guide.[44]

XM satellite radio application

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MobiTV developed theXM Satellite Radioapplications forAllteland Cingular, which both launched in 2006.[45][46]Cingular partnered with MobiTV andMusic Choiceto offer mobile radio stations to customers with theNokia 6620orSony Ericsson S710andZ500adevices.[47][48]

References

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  1. ^"Nooney flips to MobiTV as CEO".The Hollywood Reporter.Retrieved2018-02-15.
  2. ^"TiVo wins MobiTV auction with $18.5M bid".FierceVideo.12 May 2021.Retrieved2021-05-15.
  3. ^"Watching TV on a cell phone".msnbc.2004-10-22.Retrieved2018-05-05.
  4. ^Wauters, Robin."The #WorldCup Drives 1 Million Downloads Of MobiTV iPhone App".TechCrunch.Retrieved2018-02-15.
  5. ^"MobiTV launches virtual pay-TV platform, signs C Spire as first operator client | FierceCable".fiercecable.Retrieved2018-02-15.
  6. ^Staff, Edit (2004-08-15)."Idetic Wins $15M To Expand MobiTV Service".gigaom.Retrieved2018-02-15.
  7. ^"MobiTV has raised $100 for mobile TV | VentureBeat".venturebeat.2 November 2006.Retrieved2018-02-15.
  8. ^Staff, Edit (2006-11-02)."MobiTV Raises Another $30 Million; Adds Hearst and Adobe As Investors".gigaom.Retrieved2018-02-15.
  9. ^Staff, Edit (2003-11-13)."Sprint Adding TV Service For Cell Phones".gigaom.Retrieved2018-02-16.
  10. ^"Sprint launches Sprint TV".Engadget.Retrieved2018-02-16.
  11. ^"Sprint launches Sprint TV".Engadget.Retrieved2018-02-16.
  12. ^Staff, Edit (2005-08-24)."Sprint & MobiTV Win Industry Award".gigaom.Retrieved2018-02-16.
  13. ^Staff, Edit (2007-10-22)."MobiTV Passes 3 Million Mark, Re-signs Sprint Deal".gigaom.Retrieved2018-02-16.
  14. ^Lawler, Ryan (2010-04-12)."MobiTV Launches on the iPhone".gigaom.Retrieved2018-02-16.
  15. ^Tarantola, Andrew."Sprint TV Brings Cable Networks to the iPhone—Still Insists on Bundling Channels".Gizmodo.Retrieved2018-02-16.
  16. ^Wauters, Robin."The #WorldCup Drives 1 Million Downloads Of MobiTV iPhone App".TechCrunch.Retrieved2018-02-16.
  17. ^"Sprint Hones In On Content with New Sprint Spot App".Wireless Week.2017-04-25.Retrieved2018-02-16.
  18. ^"Sprint to offer video, 3D games for cell phones".CNET.2004-01-09.Retrieved2018-02-16.
  19. ^Staff, Edit (2003-11-13)."Sprint Adding TV Service For Cell Phones".gigaom.Retrieved2018-02-16.
  20. ^"Fred Wilson's fortunes, sexy commenters & latest on Mojungle, MobiTV and Edgeio | VentureBeat".venturebeat.5 December 2006.Retrieved2018-02-16.
  21. ^Staff, Edit (2006-05-27)."MobiTV Goes With Telcel In Mexico".gigaom.Retrieved2018-02-16.
  22. ^Staff, Edit (2010-10-04)."T-Mobile USA Sticks With Family-Friendly Theme For The New myTouch".gigaom.Retrieved2018-02-16.
  23. ^Staff, Edit (2005-11-17)."Alltel, MobiTV Offer Wireless TV Service".gigaom.Retrieved2018-02-16.
  24. ^Staff, Edit (2005-08-03)."MobiTV Signs Satellite Deal; Moves Into DVB-H".gigaom.Retrieved2018-02-16.
  25. ^Staff, Edit (2005-05-26)."MobiTV Expands to Europe with Orange UK Launch".gigaom.Retrieved2018-02-16.
  26. ^Staff, Edit (2006-09-12)."AT&T Launched Broadband TV Service With 20 Channels".gigaom.Retrieved2018-02-16.
  27. ^Staff, Edit (2007-02-02)."MobiTV Preps for U-verse To Take IPTV Mobile; Early Days".gigaom.Retrieved2018-02-16.
  28. ^Staff, Edit (2007-03-22)."AT&T IPTV Service To Go Online As Well; Extension of MobiTV Deal".gigaom.Retrieved2018-02-16.
  29. ^Staff, Edit (2006-06-30)."MobiTV Expands to Windows Mobile".gigaom.Retrieved2018-02-16.
  30. ^Malik, Om (2006-12-01)."MobiTV behind Comcast FourPlay".gigaom.Retrieved2018-02-16.
  31. ^Staff, Edit (2008-04-14)."MobiTV Hits 4 Million, Upgrades Tech".gigaom.Retrieved2018-02-16.
  32. ^Kendrick, James (2008-08-07)."MobiTV passes 4 million subscriber mark".gigaom.Retrieved2018-02-16.
  33. ^Gannes, Liz (2009-06-03)."Vid-Biz: EchoStar, MobiTV, Buckley".gigaom.Retrieved2018-02-16.
  34. ^"MobiTV sees big jump in viewership".Engadget.Retrieved2018-02-16.
  35. ^"MobiTV expanding beyond mobile video market".CNET.2010-10-04.Retrieved2018-02-16.
  36. ^"C Spire Teams With MobiTV on Next-Gen TV Service | Multichannel".multichannel.25 July 2016.Retrieved2018-02-16.
  37. ^"C Spire Launches IPTV Service | Multichannel".multichannel.6 July 2017.Retrieved2018-02-16.
  38. ^"MobiTV launches virtual pay-TV platform, signs C Spire as first operator client | FierceCable".fiercecable.Retrieved2018-02-16.
  39. ^"Broadcasting & Cable Digital All Starts".Broadcasting&Cable.Retrieved2018-02-16.
  40. ^"Cablefax Digital & Tech Awards Luncheon, March 6 in NYC!".Cablefax.Retrieved2018-02-16.
  41. ^"NCTC Looks to MobiTV for IP Video".Cablefax.2017-12-08.Retrieved2018-02-16.
  42. ^Staff, Edit (2005-12-12)."MobiTV To Sell Video Ads On Cell Phones".gigaom.Retrieved2018-02-16.
  43. ^Staff, Edit (2008-09-10)."@ CTIA: MobiTV Launching Business-Centric Mobi4BIZ On Blackberry Bold".gigaom.Retrieved2018-02-16.
  44. ^Staff, Edit (2006-01-04)."Sprint, Cingular Add MobiTV2 To Roster; Palm Wi-Fi Capability".gigaom.Retrieved2018-02-16.
  45. ^"Alltel Delivers XM Satellite Radio to Phones".TechCrunch.2006-08-10.Retrieved2018-02-16.
  46. ^Staff, Edit (2006-11-02)."Cingular Launches Its Music Service; Streaming XM; Yahoo/Napster/eMusic Tie-Ups".gigaom.Retrieved2018-02-16.
  47. ^"Cingular announces MobiRadio streaming music service".Engadget.Retrieved2018-02-16.
  48. ^Staff, Edit (2006-07-19)."Licensing Deals: MobiRadio; Celebrities-Airborne; Konami-TokyoPop".gigaom.Retrieved2018-02-16.
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