3 Italia, the Mobile Media Company of the Hutchison Whampoa Group,
was the first company in the world to launch commercial DVB-H
mobile TV services. Its customer base was 100,000 one month after
the launch on June 5th 2006, increasing to 400,000 by the end
of December 2006. By May 2007, the company was reporting a customer
base of 600,000.
3 Italia offers mobile tv as a part of an "all inclusive"
proposition that combines a pay-TV subscription model with a daily
bundle of voice and Internet. On the other hand there’s
a pay-per-view model, that allows customers to pre-pay for access
to the service from one day to 3 months.
First audience measurements show a polarisation towards thematic
channels (average weekly share 71%), while classic TV channels
get a 29% weekly audience. In-house produced La3 Sport and La3
Live together get a 22% average share. Rai and Mediaset channels
reach respectively a 15% and 14% average share. Customers show
a high interest in sports (total average share of 28%) and news
(top share of 30% is reached in the morning), while entertainment
reaches a 15% average share.
