• by Wayne Friedman , Erik Sass  @eriksass1, January 5, 2011

Mobile Content Venture, a new joint venture created by 12 broadcast groups, is joining forces with MobiTV to develop a national mobile platform for delivering live TV and video-on-demand to a wide range of compatible devices.

Together with Nagra-Kudelski, which provides content protection and multi-screen technology, MCV and MobiTV will give consumers access to video and program information for both live broadcast television and streaming video.

The group intends to offer local TV programming as a free service, with advertising, with at least two channels per market. This includes developing the user registration process for consumers.

But pay TV services could also be in the works.

Among MCV's partners are NBCU, Fox and the members of Pearl Mobile TV DTV, a mobile content consortium, which includes Belo Corp., Cox Media Group, E.W. Scripps Co., Gannett Broadcasting, Hearst Television, Media General, Meredith Corp., Post-Newsweek Stations Inc. and Raycom Media.

As part of the new platform, MobiTV is responsible for creating direct-to-consumer applications for mobile DTV-enabled devices. Nagra-Kudelski will manage the development standards-based conditional access, which will allow broadcasters to encrypt content and try out various business models, including advertising-supported distribution.

Still, all is not entirely smooth for local TV stations. In one report, an MCV executive says some devices being touted by the Open Mobile Video Coalition -- the industry group promoting mobile DTV -- may not be able to receive the MCV service.

The service is scheduled to launch in the top 20 media markets in the second half of 2011.

MCV said it has also struck deals with manufacturers, including Dell and Samsung, to deploy MCV-compatible devices with a mobile DTV tuner capable of receiving live broadcast television.

In a joint statement, Salil Dalvi, co-general manager of MCV and senior vp of NBC Universal Digital Distribution and Erik Moreno, co-general manager of MCV and senior vp at Fox, said: "A vibrant mobile TV ecosystem needs broadcast services, consumer devices that comply with ATSC-Mobile standards and the ability to enable multiple business models for content owners."