Mediacorp TV TVMobile, was a subsidiary of Mediacorp, was the world's first channel to use Digital Video Broadcast technology to deliver television entertainment and news programmes to people in public places. Broadcasting at 89.3 MHz, TVMobile had outdoor-advertising platforms at Suntec Cityfood courts, Bintan Resorts ferries, academic institutions, and in taxis and selected SBS Transit buses. It broadcast daily from 6 AM to midnight, providing an outdoor-advertising medium that scheduled programming according to viewers’s profiles and travel patterns. Home viewers required a digital set-top box to receive it. On 15 December 2009, Mediacorp announced that TVMobile would be discontinued on 1 January 2010, at the end of its agreement with SBS Transit.
Closure
Mediacorp stated that their decision to discontinue TVMobile came from careful evaluation of the service's viability, considering the substantial resources required to operate and maintain it. This may also be due to SBS Transit importing buses since 2002 but without mounting TVMobile in their buses. It was only available on Mercedes-Benz O405, Mercedes-Benz O405, Volvo B10M Mark III, Volvo B10M Mark IV, Volvo B10M Mark IV, Volvo B10M Mark IV, Leyland Olympian 3-Axle, Volvo Olympian 3-Axle and Volvo B10TL Super Olympian Prototype. This allowed the Volvo B10M Mark IV to get deployed on their cross-border services, to replace the de-registering Volvo B10M Mark III. The main reason it gets extended for 1 year is because of the TVMobile.
Programmes
It featured re-runs and simulcasts of shows both in Mandarin and English, and lately some in Malay and a little bit in Tamil, from its sister channels and occasionally features original content; for instance, shorts produced in collaboration with Nanyang Polytechnic.
Infrastructure
The network had one main transmitting site, nine filler transmitting sites and two transposers located island-wide. The digital signal was carried via ATM and microwave transmitting medium to the main transmitting site before being re-transmitted to the filler sites.
Receiving the Channel
TV mobile was available on SBS Transit air-conditioned Buses, Bintan Resort Ferries, the Tasty corner & delight corner in Suntec and a few SmartCab Taxis. In addition, an audio simulcast of the channel was available by tuning into 89.3 MHz on the FM band, which eventually reused by Money FM 89.3.
SBS Transit Moove Media, the advertising arm of Go-Ahead Singapore and SBS Transit, is responsible for advertising on its trains, buses and taxis. A similar system, through the use of liquid-crystal display monitors, has been installed on all trains plying the North East line, Downtown line, Sengkang LRT & Punggol LRT.
XCO Media+
XCO Media+, the advertising arm of SMRT Corporation, is responsible for advertising on its trains, buses and taxis. A similar system, through the use of LCD monitors, has been installed on SMRT's third newest fleet of trains and all trains plying the Bukit Panjang LRT.
Reception and feedback
As of 2005, TVMobile had been installed in most of SBS Transit's buses. TVMobile was an outdoor digital television station, broadcasting live news and entertainment programmes throughout the buses' operating hours. SBS Transit was the only bus operator to have installed TVMobile in its buses as of 2006. From time to time, SBS Transit's use of TVMobile had frequently attracted flak in the Straits Times' Forum pages. Some commuters hold the impression that the installation of TVMobile was the reason for increases in bus fares, even after announcements that this was not the cause. There were also feedback about TVMobile's suitability and the repetitiveness of the programs broadcast. This was despite the fact that the infrastructure and equipment of TVMobile was not managed by SBS Transit at all, but rather, by Mediacorp TV Holdings. SBS Transit buses were just a medium on which TVMobile was installed. TVMobile also provided an extra source of revenue for SBS Transit. This was due to the royalties paid by Mediacorp.
