TV Anywhere, Anytime

By Donald Macintyre/Seoul

Lee Hyun Yong loves soccer and baseball, and now he can watch games on his cell phone. Mobile carriers have invested heavily to make fast high-quality video streams a reality--until now with little success. But digital multimedia broadcasting, a new Korean technology, is finally allowing consumers to get video on the go. On May 1, TU Media, a subsidiary of SK Telecom, launched a satellite-based service that beams seven video channels to cell phones. (Nokia and Qualcomm are backing similar technologies that won't hit the market until next year.) Tu Media forecasts 600,000 users for what it calls "take-out TV" by year's end. One obstacle: the cheapest video-ready phones cost $700. Lee's grandmother has another issue. "She asked me, 'Do you want to watch that idiot box outdoors too?'" he says. Depends on who's playing. --By Donald Macintyre/Seoul