By Cassimir Medford

As it is currently conceived, broadcast TV on mobile phones will fail in the United States as it has in most places around the globe.

This is the bold statement of London-based ROK Entertainment, a four-year-old mobile TV startup that is only weeks away from entering the United States market, where it will compete with firms such as MobiTV.

Both Qualcomm and CrownCastle are in the process of rolling out networks that will deliver TV shows on mobile phones, but mobile consumers just don’t have the time for full-length TV, said Bruce Renny, ROK’s marketing director.

“The mobile viewer watches TV for three to four minutes at a time, and that is due largely to the lack of opportunity to watch for any more time than that,” he said.

“They get distracted because they have to get on or off the bus or something, so it is massive hubris by the telcos to think that people will pay a subscription fee for full-length TV,” Mr. Renny added.

The three largest telecommunications carriers in the U.S. are in the earliest stages of their introduction of broadcast TV service on mobile phones.

Both Verizon Wireless and AT&T have committed to Qualcomm’s MediaFLO network for their distribution, while Sprint Nextel is currently involved with the cable TV industry in mobile TV tests.

Mobile TV On-Demand

ROK, which has roughly 30 telecom carrier customers in the U.K., China, Thailand, Turkey, and Brazil, among other countries, offers TV on demand as opposed to on broadcast TV.

The thinking is that mobile TV viewers would prefer to watch specific content they choose rather than stick to what’s available on broadcast TV while they are on the bus or sitting at a coffee shop.

“The programs that are available on broadcast TV during the morning and evening commutes are exceedingly banal,” Mr. Renny said. “The mobile viewer does not want to watch two politicians argue over state-funding cuts.”

ROK offers its content in short, punchy bites designed to appeal to mobile users.

The other barrier to the success of mobile broadcast TV is the complexity of broadcast rights, according to Mr. Renny.

The broadcast rights to major events, such as sports competitions, are already sold to specific carriers so competing carriers will be unable to carry popular sporting events.

“We have seen this with Formula One, as customer satisfaction plummets when they find out that the good stuff is blacked out,” he said.

“We think broadcast TV will prove successful only as part of a bundle, not as a standalone subscription service,” Mr. Renny said.