MEDIA RELEASE PR30996
Telegent Enables Free Mobile Access to TV Broadcasts of Summer
Sporting Events for Millions of Viewers
SHANGHAI, July 16 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --
71% of Chinese consumers surveyed interested in watching this summer's
sports competitions on free-to-air mobile TV phones
Millions of viewers worldwide will stay abreast of live sports coverage
this summer with TV handsets that incorporate Telegent's free-to-air mobile TV
technology. According to SINO-MR, a leading China market research firm, 71% of
China consumers surveyed were interested in watching the 2008 Beijing games on
a TV phone, with 41% considering buying one to gain mobile access to the summer
sports coverage. SINO-MR estimates that domestic sales of free-to-air analog
TV handsets will exceed 21 million by year-end, propelling China to the
forefront of mobile TV adoption worldwide and suggesting that this summer's
quadrennial games are set to smash world records with the number of people
viewing the event on mobile TV.
According to Telegent's chief executive officer Weijie Yun, the Beijing
games could be the first major sporting event to be widely viewed on mobile
devices. "Free-to-air mobile TV provides consumers with a compelling, free and
easy-to-use method of watching the same news, sports and other programming that
consumers receive on their TV sets at home," said Yun. "This explains why
sales of analog TV handsets have already outpaced the number of digital
subscription mobile TV viewers worldwide." Analyst firm In-Stat predicts that
34 million analog TV handsets will be sold globally in 2008.
This view is backed up by major handset manufacturer ZTE. Mohamed Ben
Hanzaz, vice president of ZTE Brazil noted, "In Brazil, the penetration of
mobile technology combined with strong consumer interest in television for news
and entertainment makes free-to-air mobile TV a compelling feature for driving
consumer demand for handsets." A separate survey conducted by Telegent in
Brazil revealed that 58% of respondents were interested in mobile access
specifically to news and sports.
The benefits of free-to-air mobile TV are enjoyed not only by consumers but
also by broadcasters and operators. The TV handsets extend the broadcasters'
viewing audience by putting the same programming that broadcasters deliver to
living room TV sets in the consumer's pocket. Yun added, "For operators,
free-to-air TV handsets provide access to the most popular content without any
infrastructure investment, providing a platform for improving their competitive
position in the marketplace."
Telegent's mobile TV technology supports free-to-air standards NTSC, PAL,
SECAM and DVB-T, as well as the digital mobile TV standard DVB-H.
About Telegent Systems
Telegent Systems is a leading fabless CMOS semiconductor company that makes
television mobile by providing high-performance, single-chip solutions enabling
free-to-air and subscription mobile TV in mobile handsets and portable
devices. Telegent's solutions deliver analog and digital broadcast reception
with unparalleled sensitivity and picture quality, ultra-low power consumption
and the highest integration simplifying mobile device design and manufacture.
SOURCE Telegent Systems
NOTE TO EDITORS: Photos for this release:
CONTACT: Mark Leeper of Bond PR,
+852-2122-9000,
mark@bondpr.com, for Telegent Systems
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