Verizon to offer cable TV on cell phones

Verizon Wireless subscribers in Spokane can now watch cable TV programming on their cell phones.

The company on Thursday rolled out the first TV and video broadcasts for subscribers in Spokane, Seattle and 18 other Midwest and Western cities.

The service, called V Cast Mobile TV, is currently only available in the general city limits of Spokane, said Verizon Wireless spokeswoman Georgia Taylor. It’s the first of its kind in the country, she said.

In effect, V Cast Mobile TV resembles a cell phone version of traditional cable TV programming, she said.

Customers must purchase a designated Verizon Wireless phone to use the service. Without a two-year commitment, that new Samsung device costs about $200. A second phone that works with V Cast Mobile TV is expected to be released soon.

Subscribers can pay $15 a month for eight mobile TV channels — CBS Mobile, Comedy Central, ESPN, Fox Mobile, MTV, NBC 2Go, NBC News 2Go and Nickelodeon.

A $25-per-month plan includes full-mobile Web access for cell phones, plus access to Verizon Wireless’s library of video clips.

Much of the programming is identical to what those networks show on regular TV. Some shows will broadcast at the same time as the TV casts, and others will be time-delayed, according to a news release.

Other cities included in the launch are Chicago; Dallas-Fort Worth; Denver; Kansas City, Mo.; Las Vegas; Minneapolis-St. Paul; New Orleans; St. Louis; Salt Lake City; Portland, Ore.; Tucson, Ariz.; Omaha, Neb.; Albuquerque-Santa Fe, N.M.; Palm Springs, Calif.; Colorado Springs, Colo.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Wichita, Kan.; and Norfolk-Richmond, Va.

“We are reacting to what people want to do with their cell phones,” Taylor said. “There is a trend toward making the phone capable of bringing the user a wide variety of content, including TV.”