CBS Adds First Station Muscle to Mobile DTV Efforts

Four of CBS' owned TV stations are joining two mobile broadcast TV initiatives, the network said Monday as broadcasters gather in Las Vegas to talk about their digital future, with mobile likely to be a big part of the conversation.

CBS owns 29 stations. This is the first time any of the CBS stations have signed up with either DTV group. Why only these four? A CBS spokesperson called it a " first step," and said the four in this initial step were chosen "after consulting with the two mobile groups to determine what would match up best in their launch markets."

CBS announced that KTVT Dallas, WFOR Miami and KCAL Los Angeles will hook up with the Dyle, consumer-facing, DTV brand of the Mobile Content Venture, which backed is by a dozen major broadcast groups -- Belo, Cox, Scripp, Gannett, Hearst Television, Media General., Meredith, Post-Newsweek, and Raycom. In addition, KSTW Seattle will join Mobile500, an alliance of 50 members companies.

"The advent of digital television has been great for viewers and we are pleased to support these initiatives with the hope that they will help us to do an even better job of serving our audience through the delivery of our broadcasts to mobile devices," said CBS TV Station President Peter Dunn in a statement.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.