Motive Television expects to launch a tablet service in the UK that provides the full Freeview viewing and “red button” experience by June this year.
Available to over 20 million tablet owners in the country in time for watching the FIFA World Cup, it will be achieved in co-operation with the company’s hardware partners iCube, makers of the TVizen tuner-antennas.
Motive Television says it plans to roll out its Tablet TV model internationally with media partners in each country.
Tablet Television, it adds, has appeal anywhere that digital terrestrial broadcasting becomes a reality and tablet ownership is expected to top 900 million worldwide by 2017.
Tablet Television in the US is on track for product and market testing this spring, with a full commercial launch expected in September.
The company anticipates strong consumer interest among the 140 million tablet users in the US (which is predicted to grow to over 400 million within five years) and will receive licence fees and a share of profits from its joint venture with Granite.
With a proprietary app and T-Pod antenna-tuner, tablet owners around the globe can watch and record all the programming currently broadcast over digital terrestrial channels.
Additionally, Tablet TV subscribers have the ability 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.