MediaFLO USA, the live mobile TV service owned by Qualcomm, announced that it will provide live coverage of the U.S. Open golf championship next week, in partnership with mobile networks and regular MediaFLO programmers ESPN on ESPN Mobile TV and NBC Sports on NBC 2Go.
The MediaFLO service, which is distributed by both Verizon Wireless and AT&T in 58 major metropolitan areas nationwide, will provide live video coverage of all four days of this year’s U.S. Open, which is being played at Torrey Pines golf course in San Diego from Jun. 12-15. In all, the MediaFLO service will offer 30 hours of live coverage of the Open, which will mark the first tournament appearance for number-one player Tiger Woods since April’s Masters, after which Woods had elective knee surgery.
The live MediaFLO coverage will run as follows:
Thursday, June 12
ESPN Mobile TV (1 p.m. – 3 p.m. ET and 5 p.m. – 10 p.m. ET) – Live coverage of round 1
NBC Sports on NBC 2Go (3 p.m. – 5 p.m. ET) – Live coverage of round 1
Friday, June 13
ESPN Mobile TV (1 p.m. – 3 p.m. ET and 5 p.m. – 10 p.m. ET) – Live coverage of round 2
NBC Sports on NBC 2Go (3 p.m. – 5 p.m. ET) – Live coverage of round 2
Saturday, June 14
NBC Sports on NBC 2Go (4 p.m. – 10 p.m. ET) – Live coverage of round 3
Sunday, June 15
NBC Sports on NBC 2Go (3 p.m. – 9 p.m. ET) – Live coverage of round 4
“We are extremely proud of the strong 2008 sports lineup provided by ESPN and NBC Sports and are thrilled to tee off the summer together with unprecedented live coverage of 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines,” said Gina Lombardi, president of MediaFLO USA, in a statement. “With its stunning picture clarity, our award-winning FLO TV service is perfect for golf fans who don’t want to miss the excitement of the year’s second major event while they are out and about.”
The footprint for the MediaFLO subscription service, which launched in March of 2007, could be getting bigger. Verizon Wireless confirmed Thursday that it is acquiring wireless carrier Alltel, which serves some 13 million customers in 34 states including a number of rural markets, in a $28.1 billion deal. The Alltel transaction includes $5.9 billion in cash and the assumption of $22.2 billion in debt, and follows a $9 billion investment that Verizon Wireless made earlier this year in new wireless spectrum through the FCC’s 700 MHz auction.
