Tablet TV progresses toward commercial launch in the US

Motive signs MOU with Ecopro ICT Inc. to develop and manufacture T-Pods

LONDON — Motive Television (“Motive” or “Company”) and its partner Granite Television Corporation (“Granite”) are progressing further toward consumer testing and launch of Tablet Television in the United States on behalf of their joint venture, Tablet Television LLC (“Tablet Television or Tablet TV”).

Motive today announces signing a binding Memorandum of Understanding with Ecopro ICT Inc. (Ecopro ICT), of Seoul, Korea, a subsidiary of Ecopro, Inc. of Cheongwon-gun, Chungcheong-buk-do, Korea to develop and produce T-Pods to specifications developed by Motive for use in Tablet Television in the United States.

Under the MOU, Ecopro ICT will develop and manufacture the T-Pod hardware devices with ATSC middleware software solution that when combined with the Tablet TV app, comprise the “kit” provided to every Tablet Television enabled subscriber. Ecopro ICT will provide devices for the upcoming market research and focus groups anticipated in February/March and thereafter for commercial launch in first markets by mid-year and subsequent rollout to all US cities.

Tablet Television also plans to engage an industry expert to assist in its consumer marketing efforts. Tablet TV will conduct a nationwide market and user research program beginning in the first half of 2014 to test viewer interest in the service and identify the most valued features.

Tablet TV will be the first complete television service for the US market of 140 million tablet users using the current over the air high definition (HD) ATSC broadcast television signals, that will provide access to current HD broadcast television content, plus on-demand movies and programs. The new television service will be marketed in cooperation with participating broadcasters in each television market as it rolls out throughout the United States, starting with the television markets that Granite Broadcasting serves.

With a proprietary app and T-Pod antenna-tuner tablet owners in every market in the United States will be able to watch and record all the programming currently broadcast over digital terrestrial channels. Additionally, Tablet TV subscribers will be able to download a selection of video-on-demand movies and programmes without the need for Internet access and, when they are connected, use integrated social networking and access anything available over the Internet.

Video viewing on tablets is rapidly increasing, with recent figures from GFK showing that 33% of Americans own a tablet and watch at least one hour of video every day on them. According to the DRG US Personal Computer, Tablet, & Mobile Phone Historical Baseline and Forecast, US Tablet users exceed 140 million in 2013, and are predicted to grow to nearly 400 million in the next several years.

Leonard M Fertig, CEO of Motive commented, “Motive sees Tablet TV as one of the the most significant developments in television since the invention of television. Personal TV viewing, whether in the living room, the park, airport, beach, café, or in your own bed is a dramatic change in viewing habits and marks a sea change underway in the television industry.

Tablet TV’s product is well positioned because we can offer a complete package of everything available on digital terrestrial channels, plus on-demand packages and content without the need for an Internet connection, plus everything available on the Internet when connected.”

Granite Chairman Peter Markham commented, “In the United States, the most popular content is on broadcast TV including primetime series, news, marquee sports. The ability to watch and record major prime-time network and local programming live or record it for personal viewing later on a tablet is a hugely attractive feature we are enabling. We are focused on making Tablet TV available to the US market in 2014 and effectively creating a new television industry segment by expanding the reach of local broadcasters to the hundreds of millions of tablet users.”