12 Broadcast giants to form a cabal .. err.. a joint venture
Well this is a rather interesting press release that is making the rounds today. It seems that twelve of the biggest names in American broadcasting are joining together to create a monster national mobile content distribution service. The companies involved are
- Belo Corp
- Cox Media Group
- E.W. Scripps Co.
- Fox
- Gannett Broadcasting
- Hearst Television Inc.
- ION Television
- Media General Inc.
- Meredith Corp
- NBC
- Post-Newsweek Stations Inc
- Raycom Media
The joint venture apparently will be operating under the name Pearl Mobile DTV Company LLC and it is believed that by combining their resources the new venture will be able offer a wide breadth of content to nearly 150 million US residents.
Regarding the announcement, Jack Abernethy, Chief Executive Officer of Fox Television Stations, stated: “We are excited about building a platform that makes mobile television universally available and economically viable. This venture is the first step in forging cross-industry and company partnerships to deliver content to consumers.”
“This initiative offers a path for the next generation of video consumption, and will help the FCC in its goal of ensuring efficient and reliable broadband service for US consumers,” said John Wallace, President, NBC Local Media.
“Local broadcasters are the backbone of the U.S. media industry,” said David J. Barrett, President and CEO of Hearst Television Inc. “This sharing of content, broadcast spectrum, marketing resources and capital is unprecedented, and underscores U.S. broadcasters’ commitment to bringing vital local news, weather, and emergency information to increasingly mobile U.S. consumers. This is a critically important initiative that holds great promise for our audiences and the television industry. This is truly the next generation of local television service.”
Source:PR Newswire
