Shanghai Media Group's affiliate Shanghai Oriental Pearl has launched a mobile phone television service.
Different from the services of Shanghai Unicom and Shanghai Mobile that rely on the communications network for signal transmission, Oriental Pearl has adopted Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) technology to realize signal transmission.
DMB's transmission speed is 25 frames per second, which is the same speed level with the traditional television picture transmission. This is the first time that DMB has appeared in China's mobile phone TV market.
The first batch of DMB mobile phones will come out in Shanghai at the end of this year when users will be able to watch nine TV channels on their mobile phones, and DMB be formally put into commercial use in 2006.
Oriental Pearl says that it will set up a JV with Shanghai Media Group to co-develop services in the DMB project. Oriental Pearl will be responsible for providing transmissions based on the wireless broadcasting network and frequency; SMG and other program providers will develop the content.
Oriental Pearl will also cooperate with Shanghai Mobile to promote mobile phone terminal users.
According to Oriental Pearl, each DMB handset will cost consumers CNY3000-5000. Yet the service fee is estimated to only be CNY10-15 per month.