Consumers with the proper equipment can now start getting "broadcast quality" television programming over their handheld devices in over 30 US markets, including Manhattan, Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington DC. In a release, the company said, "Wait times at the airport, doctors’ offices and restaurants will get a little bit more interesting on Monday, October 1 for Verizon Wireless customers…who will be able to watch broadcast-quality television on select TV-enabled handsets." Other markets include Atlanta, Chicago, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Richmond, Baltimore and Norfolk. Program offerings include "Late Show with David Letterman," "24" and "Dora the Explorer," as well as live shows and mobile television content from CBS Mobile, Comedy Central, ESPN Mobile TV, Fox Mobile, MTV, NBC 2GO, NBC News2GO, and Nickelodeon. "It’s like flipping on your television at home," said Tami Erwin, regional president for Verizon Wireless. "You absolutely have to see it to believe the quality of this service. It goes way beyond any other video offering in the wireless market right now." The devices, in addition to children’s programming, include parental control devices.
TVBR observation: Call us curmudgeons. We fondly remember the blissful and above all peaceful days when we were away from home or office and nobody could contact us on the telephone. We personally are not thrilled to be in on other people’s ubiquitous phone calls made and received from just about every spot in the organized world. And we have to say that we are not looking forward to sharing "airports, doctors’ offices and restaurants" with people who are watching TV. We are even less thrilled about the prospect that some of these people will start trying to watch TV while driving. We have no idea what you think, but at the very least, you may be less than thrilled that there will be yet another hungry mouth bellying up for a chunk of the advertising pie, and unless it’s a sister to one of your own operations, it’s just one more competitor. Just what we need.
