John Lawson, the former Ion exec, will lead the effort to promote mobile DTV that's made up of 40 groups that operate more than 400 TV stations.
Lawson Named Mobile500 Executive Director
The Mobile500 Alliance announced today that it has hired former Ion Media executive John Lawson as its executive director.
Lawson will lead the consortium of TV station groups as it develops and attempts to launch a mobile DTV service in the U.S. with spectrum contributed by the groups.
According to the Mobile500, he will be charged with “securing content arrangement with program suppliers and enhancing consumer device features with electronics manufacturers.”
The Mobile500 comprises 40 groups that operate more than 400 commercial television stations.
“This is is a key organizational step in our goal to accelerate the availability of Mobile DTV to consumers,” said Colleen Brown, president and CEO of Fisher Communications and president of the Mobile500 Alliance.
“John brings the leadership focus and experience we need to take the Mobile500 Alliance to the next level. He knows our industry, he understands the technology, and he has proven leadership and organizational skills,” she said.
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From 2008 to 2010, Lawson was EVP of ION Media Networks, where he led policy strategy, distribution relations and strategic initiatives.
Previously, Lawson was president and CEO of the Association of Public Television Stations, which secured the policy and funding support for the successful digital transition of the public television industry.
Lawson was a founding board member of the Open Mobile Video Coalition and was elected to its first executive committee.
He also served on OMVC’s business and public affairs advisory groups.
Last April, Lawson re-launched his strategic consulting firm, Convergence Services,which he will retain while serving as executive director of the Mobile500 Alliance.
Comments (3)
Christina Perez says:
November 15, 2010 at 4:11 pm
If broadcasters were smart, intent on protecting their proprietary distribution system and not becoming an expendable appendage of the cable-broadband cabal, they would order video engineers to devise a way to make the existing ATSC standard backwardly compatible with mobile applications — and don’t tell me it can’t be done.
If they could do it with color TV in the early 50’s, they can figure out a way to make ATSC mobile. Of course, if the intent is to kill any full-HD OTA service, then the strategy approved by the FCC for a non-HD mobile TV broadcast standard begins to make sense. TV broadcasters cut off their nose to spite their face when they allowed ATSC to be mobile-unfriendly.
Kathryn Miller says:
November 15, 2010 at 6:03 pm
you are a fool. Please explain to me how a device without a tv tuner will tune in television broadcasts. ATSC M/H can be received on any device with an M/H tuner, demultiplexer and H.264 video, HE AAC v2 audio. And, “over the air” transmission isn’t “proprietary distribution system” any body with a tv tuner that meets basic MPEG-2 requirements can receive the broadcasts; the distribution is open, not proprietary.
Howard Strudler says:
November 15, 2010 at 11:49 pm
Right on, brother!