Mobile video specialist MobiTV has reported that mobile access to live events, breaking news and entertainment have driven a 49% increase in viewing minutes for its mobile TV and video on demand services on a daily basis compared to a year ago.

Available in the US through AT&T, Verizon and other carriers, and as Sprint TV on the Sprint network, the company believes that the spike for its flagship product can be attributed to high profile content from marquee partners.

These partners include companies such as NBC, ESPN, Disney, CBS and Warner Music, Mobi's applications are available on leading handsets compatible with nearly every mobile operating system, and can be deployed by wireless operators or hosted by MobiTV. The company claims that it was the first company to bring live TV to mobile devices, and that it is driven by a passion for delivering personalised, engaging and relevant mobile media experiences.

The most recent example of a spike for mobile TV in its service was the Tiger Woods press conference, responsible for a 3X jump in viewership on channels airing the event: ABC News NOW, FOX News, MSNBC and ESPN Mobile TV. MobiTV sees the event as a key indicator of mobile TV viewing behaviour, specifically the consumer appetite for viewing live events on the go.

"Breaking news, sports and other live events are proven catalysts for tune-in and usage spikes," said Ray DeRenzo, CMO of MobiTV, Inc. "We're focused on delivering an experience that is more than just TV on your [mobile] phone with a live experience that compliments the on-demand offerings that consumers care about, which we believe will continue to inspire increased consumer demand for our service."

"As an end-to-end managed service, major wireless operators turn to MobiTV, Inc to deliver the experiences their subscribers are asking for. We're continuing to innovate on our platform, which is designed to scale with the demands of the rapidly growing mobile TV market," said Kay Johansson, CTO of MobiTV. Johansson also told C2M that the next step for the company would be to replicateits US success in Europe.