Innovating free-to-air broadcasting: Social value, broadcast content, and personal mobile communications.

Simpson, Seamus; Rashid, Imir

Abstract

This chapter analyses recent evidence of efforts by broadcast players to move into personal mobile communications through the delivery of broadcast content to smartphones. It explores innovation strategies related to the broadcast distribution channel, rather than content, and illustrates what can be described as defensive and progressive elements in the activities of European digital terrestrial television (DTT) service providers. The chapter points to the enduring resilience and social value of public service broadcasting in increasingly online, predominantly alinear, electronic communications. We outline the case for this in terms of the social value added which these providers bring to two linked and complementary core elements: technological research into 5G broadcast delivery and strategies to protect existing control of scarce ultra high frequency (UHF) infrastructural spectral resources. We argue that both elements contribute to the public purposes of providing access to – and securing universality of – media services.

• Online Publication Date: Jun 1, 2023
• Publication Date: Jun 1, 2023
• Deposit Date: Jun 14, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 19, 2023
• Pages: 175–192
• Book Title: Public service media’s contribution to society
• Chapter Number: 9
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.48335/9789188855756-9
• Keywords: broadcasting to smartphones, technical standards, public service media, 5G, mobile communications
• Contract Date: Jun 1, 2022