ITV To Launch Mobile Service; Broadband Trials

UK’s broadcaster ITV, which is doing a catchup game to BBC and Sky in the digital arena, is launching its mobile brand today, called ITV Mobile, and will offer news, sports, weather, video clips of its shows and original mobisodes to UK users. It plans highlights and special episodes of its top-rating programmes including This Morning, I’m a Celebrity and Coronation Street. These could include parallel storylines that link TV episodes of the show. From next year, the broadcaster will also start to commission programmes specifically to be viewed on mobile devices.

Also, the company is launching trials of a new broadband internet service…ITV Local will offer a highly targeted local channel including news and weather and ITV entertainment content.

Times UK: Until now ITV has had a relatively underdeveloped internet strategy, at a time when the BBC is increasingly focusing on its online services. ITV hopes to generate internet revenues to reduce its massive dependence on network TV advertising, and to offset the impact of declining audiences on ITV1.

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