The mobile tide has broken over TV broadcasting in waves over the last 15 years and the field is now being buffeted by several new ones washing up in various domains, from remote production through delivery to new forms of lean back viewing from headsets or glasses. As a result, we hear some broadcasters talking again about Mobile First strategies, but this has different meanings from when that term was first used up to a decade ago.

Now it might apply to production, content creation, or catering more for interactivity, rather than merely ensuring that video played out on mobile handsets takes some account of the different aspect ratios. It does however mean ensuring that mobile formats, as well as the different ways content is consumed on small devices, are taken account of at the production stage, rather than bolted on afterwards when it is likely to yield a clunkier look and poorer overall UX (User Experience).

In the US, Comcast’s NBC Universal (NBCU) announced in February 2025 it would launch what it called a premium mobile-first news platform later this year, which would amount to a revamp of its whole current affairs coverage. There are 24 streams of content planned around lifestyle, crime and global news, comprising dedicated material, as well as extracts pulled from sister NBC News programs, reworked into short form clips supposedly more conducive for viewing on small devices.

This exercise therefore has several dimensions. One is creating dedicated content designed from the ground up for mobile viewing on small devices, primarily smartphones here. Another thread lies in repurposing existing content efficiently and effectively for mobile viewing, and this may feed back into original production of that. So, while this in turn will initially involve reformatting of content produced for traditional 16:9 screens, it may end leading towards a hybrid approach catering for vertical, square and horizontal displays from the outset.

This leads to a key point, which is that broadcasters should not tilt too far towards mobile away from traditional TVs, where the majority of longer form viewing still goes on. And not just longer form viewing. YouTube recently announced that more people in the US are now watching its content on connected TVs than mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.

Even if this statistic is not quite replicated in Europe or elsewhere it is indicative that although viewing may be migrating online from traditional linear platforms, a lot is still lean back with TV sets. Indeed, YouTube also noted that viewing habits were actually changing, even if traditional devices were still being used. So, we find that even YouTube Shorts, which was introduced as a mobile-first vertical video offering, is being viewed in large volumes on connected TVs.

This led YouTube CEO Neal Mohan to advocate that broadcasters and content creators should continue to focus on big as well as small screens, while agreeing that mobiles were no longer mere second screens. Some broadcasters have taken this on board. The BBC, Estonian Public Broadcasting (ERR), Thai PBS and Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) are among public service broadcasters that have adopted “digital first”, or “online first” strategies over the last few years.

The BBC was particularly evangelical, announcing in May 2022 that it would reinvest £300 million to drive its then emerging new digital first strategy. But that was not just about mobile, with its focus on the iPlayer OTT platform and BBC Sounds for audio. These are both accessed widely over both fixed broadband and mobile networks.

It is true that as these digital first strategies have been unfolding the mobile side has risen ever higher on these broadcasters’ radar screens, both in terms of OTA (Over The Air) delivery, and the capabilities or impacts of the screens being reached. An intriguing development is the rise of the VR (Virtual Reality) headset as a device for lean back viewing as well as lean forward one-to-one activity, as in gaming.

This is being driven largely by advances in the optical technology underpinning such headsets, which is also helping address a long-standing handicap faced by such devices. That is the encumbrance of wearing the headsets, which does not deter say dedicated gamers, but has prevented them being widely used so far for relaxing lean back viewing.

From the outset the XR headset field has been governed mostly by big vendors such as Sony, Google, Apple and more recently Meta with deep pockets to fund the R&D in high-resolution displays and high precision optics. The former, often Liquid Crystal Displays (LCDs) or Organic Light-Emitting D(OLED) panels, are carefully engineered to reduce motion blur and pixelation to a minimum for more comfortable and compelling viewing.

Then the optics have to ensure that the visual content is attuned as closely as possible to the viewer’s binocular vision, again to reduce artefacts that would detract from the experience and even cause headaches. This means allowing users to adjust for their own interpupillary distance (IPD), since this varies between individuals, and so has become integral to all VR headsets.

There has also been a focus on increasing the refresh rate, measured in hertz (Hz), for smoother playback to reduce risk of motion sickness. Refresh rate can be confused with frame rate, and is similar, being the rate at which images are updated on screen by the graphics processor, as opposed to the rate at which consecutive frames are displayed (or captured). They are effectively synonymous as far as the human vision system is concerned, in so far that an increase in either leads to smoother more natural motion playback.

There is a major advance coming in VR headsets resulting from an intersection between the display and optical technology. This has led to in-lens technology, where the display is embedded in the device’s lens. This opens the door to glasses that can correct vision as well as act as VR headsets, which could overcome resistance to wearing for long periods, or even all the time. Given that around half of people wear glasses for corrective vision, combining these with display capabilities in a similar form where users can still choose their own frames would at a stroke almost create a new video display sector.

These are early days, but several of the big tech companies have piled in with prototype smart glasses that incorporate in-lens displays in full color, front-facing cameras, speakers and microphones. This promises to disrupt both the mobile device and lean back video viewing fields or even revolutionize them.

On the mobile side, such glasses could allow users to keep their smartphones in their pockets while they snack videos while traveling or follow Google Maps while walking to a destination.

Such glasses are not yet widely commercially available, largely because of one major problem yet to be resolved, which is power consumption. Such prototype mobile smart glasses have limited battery life because the displays consume significant amounts of electricity. This precludes them being worn all day like prescription glasses, with wearers, given present technology, having to take them off periodically for a recharge. So, there is work to be done improving power efficiency, or tapping ambient sources of electricity.

Yet the impact on lean back viewing could be considerable, because of the interactive and immersive potential. The headset does not transform the content, with no 3D element, which is perhaps a good thing given the fate of 3D TV over a decade ago. But these headsets do give a cinema like experience with scope for spatial audio and visual effects.

For this reason, all the leading streaming services, including Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime, have dedicated VR apps. A number of broadcasters do as well, and even services lacking such apps can be accessed quite satisfactorily over a web browser. Consumers often prefer to access services on a more occasional basis over the web to avoid app overpopulation on their devices.

Until recently viewing through such headsets has been quite niche. The difference now is that standalone headsets and models tethered to smartphones, not requiring high powered gaming PCs, are becoming increasingly capable and able to support interactive viewing over mobile networks. It will not be long before users will be able to view content at high quality, and this will drive further innovation across the content production and delivery chain.

VR headsets are already enabling mixed media elements such as graphic overlays, brand icons like teams the viewer supports, and product placements, to be incorporated. There is also growing scope for interactivity, with users able to select various media control options and tailor the viewing experience as it unfolds. And although there is no 3D in a real sense, 360-degree presentation simulates this by immersing users in the field of view.

There are other attractive aspects for travelers on public transport for example, whether on trains, buses, planes, or waiting at stations or airports, such as much greater viewing privacy. Fellow passengers are unable to overlook, or even be aware the user is watching TV at all.

Yet, at the same time, the viewer can engage more than before in social viewing with friends if they want, through co-viewing interactive sessions. Growth in social TV has been accelerating anyway as broadcasters seek to exploit potential for engagement via the big social media platforms. VR headsets and smart glasses are bringing a further dimension.

This movement towards viewing through headsets or glasses is also adding fuel to the mobile delivery drive enabled by next generation TV systems and 5G Broadcast. Mobile handsets today can access scheduled linear as well as streaming services in unicast mode over 5G or 4G LTE networks it is true.

But mobile broadcast delivery can bypass cellular networks and in principle enable emerging glasses or headsets to access video services without needing SIM cards or cellular subscriptions. The content can be delivered over existing DTT infrastructures, as is happening with so called next gen TV platforms such as ATSC 3.0, as well as others such as Advanced ISDB-I for Japan and some of those Latin American and other countries that adopted the second generation of that.

The Broadcast Bridge in February 2025 described how these platforms are evolving, noting that European broadcasters are most interested in exploiting 5G Broadcast as part of their hybrid offerings with hopes of delivering content and services directly to mobile devices. As we pointed out then, the key missing ingredient is support by the major device makers for 5G Broadcast, but that is likely to come given the growing momentum behind it in Europe.

The 5G Broadcast Strategic Task Force (5BSTF) in March 2025 elaborated on its commercial roadmap for 5G Broadcast across six European markets, setting 2027 as the target for commercial deployment. Founded in 2024 by Media Broadcast (Germany), TDF (France), and German testing company Rohde & Schwarz, 5BSTF has now expanded to include Cordiant Capital (UK), Emitel (Poland), CRA (Czech Republic), BTCY (Belgium), and RAI (Italy).

These are now developing a joint commercial roadmap to reach over 270 million people, 125 million of which will be targeted in the first phase. This initial deployment will use existing DTT broadcast network infrastructure to create a 5G Broadcast overlay designed for video streaming at lower latency and better QoS than currently unicast streaming allows.

Progress is also being made with next generation DTT platforms, which have also been designed to serve mobile devices, sharing the same issue of device support, or lack of it. Of these, ATSC 3.0 has greatest momentum, having gained traction beyond its North American heartland, adopted for next gen TV in Brazil for example.

This could also happen in India, which would be a major scalp. This became more likely after three companies in April 2025 announced plans to launch D2M (Direct to Mobile) phones in India in preparation for large scale field trials of ATSC 3.0. These were Indian D2M technology startup FreeStream Technologies, Indian handset maker Lava International, and Finnish phone maker HMD.

In this case the D2M technology will be ATSC 3.0, using DTT airwaves to deliver live TV as well as educational programming and emergency alerts in broadcast mode. This underlines the opportunity for broadcasters to expand their scope by enabling delivery direct to mobiles, including not just smartphones but other devices.

The main TV in the living room may not be challenged yet, but an increasing amount of lean back viewing will take place on wireless connected devices, both inside and outside the home. Innovation in devices, content production and delivery, are coming together to drive another wave of mobile engagement for broadcasters.