NFL's RedZone Comes to Your Cell Phone

Picture it. It's football Sunday. Your favorite NFL team is getting ready to play their big division rival and you've just settled in to watch and cheer them on, surrounded by your all your favorite snacks. But something happens and you get called into the office. Or maybe you find yourself having to work instead of lounge around in front of your plasma TV. Wouldn't it be great if you could watch the big game from your cell phone?

Well, next season, that dream may become a reality...sort of. The NFL has announced that it is planning to make the RedZone Channel available to cell phone users in fall of 2010. The RedZone cable channel provides coverage of big plays all day on Sunday, during the football season. It switches to any game when a team is within 20 yards of a touchdown, as well as showing all scoring plays, turnovers, and other big plays. The new cell phone version of the channel will be just like the TV version.

Prices haven't yet been set for the mobile version of RedZone. This year, Sprint customers could pay $15 a month for the company's NFL Mobile package (it was also included in their Simply Everything package). Also, DirecTV customers could pay $100 for the mobile feed for the NFL Sunday Ticket, in addition to the nearly $300 they already pay.

Some are wondering whether or not the new venue for watching football will cause broadcasters to see a decline in TV watchers. The NFL has billion-dollar deals with both CBS and Fox and last year, the league was one of the few businesses in the country that did not seen a decline, due to the economy. As a matter of fact, this season's games have seen record numbers of viewers.

But former president of CBS Sports, Neal Pilson, says the networks need not worry, "Right now the sentiment among broadcasters is that this kind of wireless and digital product is only building fans' attachments to the broadcasts. So far, if you can avoid it, you're not going to choose your two-by-two-inch cell phone over your 52-inch, hi-def television."

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Free Mobile TV Will Be Available Soon

Finally, free mobile TV will be available for laptops, iPhones, and Droids. The head of the Open Mobile Video Coalition said that this should all be ready sometime in 2010. OMVC president, Anne Schelle, says that, “Broadcasters are forming groups to announce national rollouts.” Over 35 stations are already online. By mid-2010, ION Media Networks, who own stations in all of the top 20 U.S. markets, plan to have 10 major markets on the air.

As of now, there are no free mobile TV options. Certain wireless carriers have subscription-based packages, and companies like MediaFlo USA have a very cable-like system where customers can purchase about a dozen channels for $10-15 a month.

Mobile DTV was introduced last year at the Consumer Electronics Show, but it is finally showing its face to everyone this year. What DTV does is it is able to transmit part of the broadcasters’ existing range to the users handheld device. It is cheap and easy for stations to make all of this possible. Installation costs are only costing them about $75,000-$150,000.

TV stations will start by broadcasting there regular programs at the same times that they could be viewed on TV. This means if your on a road trip and happen to be missing the next episode of your favorite show, all you have to do is flip on your phone. Local news and even children’s programs will be available. Some people are saying that eventually DVR capabilities could be possible with Mobile DTV.

No matter what happens or what developments are made, DTV is coming, and I think that it is most definitely going to be a hit.

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Looking for help with travel and technology? Then call a Tech Travel Agent at 800-736-8772. Or see this link for a Laptop Rental on your next trip.