ABC O&O’s launch free wireless video

Michael Gay July 10th, 2007

All 10 ABC owned stations today launched free video on their wireless sites, according to a press release. The ad-supported video is powered by Local Wireless, who maintains the WAP sites for the stations. Check out WABC’s wireless site on your phone at 7togo.com. I pulled it up on my Motorola Q. It worked, but even on the Verizon EVDO it was very choppy. It also takes 4 clicks to get the video to play, so have time to wait for each of those pages to load before the buffering even starts. Hopefully these are just Day 1 issues that will be resolved, but having free local news video from the top markets is a great step forward for mobile users. (Thanks Peter for the tip!)

ABC OWNED TELEVISION STATIONS LAUNCH PIONEERING FREE AD-SUPPORTED MOBILE VIDEO SERVICES, EXPANDING ACCESS TO LOCAL NEWS CLIPS IN 10 MARKETS
In a pioneering move to bring advertiser-supported streaming news clips to the fast-growing number of consumers with video-enabled cell phones, the ABC Owned Television Stations Group has launched free mobile video services in all 10 of its markets.

The announcement was made today by Walter Liss, president of the ABC Owned Television Stations Group, who said: “Expanded access to our video news clips on this new platform is a natural step for the ABC Owned Television Stations. As news leaders in our markets, our stations are well positioned to provide the top quality local news content that viewers expect on the television screen, computer monitor and now via mobile devices.”

The 10 ABC Owned Television Stations offering this new advertiser-supported news service are WABC-TV New York, KABC-TV Los Angeles, WLS-TV Chicago, WPVI-TV Philadelphia, KGO-TV San Francisco, KTRK-TV Houston, WTVD Raleigh-Durham, KFSN-TV Fresno, WJRT-TV Flint and WTVG Toledo.

William Burton, executive vice president, Digital Media, ABC Owned Television Stations Group, commented: “The launch of this mobile video service offers a win-win opportunity for both viewers on the go and advertisers who want to remain connected to them. As a free and easily accessible service with compelling content, the service is designed to successfully meet the growing demand for news video on video-enabled mobile devices in our markets.”

Powering the ABC Owned Television Stations free mobile video is Local Wireless(r), the nation’s largest wireless aggregator of local television news content. Local Wireless also powers the ABC Owned Television Stations Group’s ongoing text-based mobile services, offering news, weather, financial information, traffic and other information.

Lee Durham, president of LSN, Inc., the parent company of Local Wireless, added: “The landmark entry of the ABC Owned Television Stations into this exciting new field of advertiser-supported mobile news video demonstrates the tremendous potential of this platform. We look forward to our work with the Group, as it continues to expand the level of top quality mobile content available to consumers.”