Some days ago we posted about how Cambridge is hosting Microsoft�s ethnographic new media study, covering twelve households. Well, Oxford (can�t be less, eh?) has gone for mobile TV.

Starting next September O2 and NTL broadcast will carry out a six month trial to monitor the activities of 350 O2 customers. People will receive on their mobiles channels like Cartoon Network, Discovery Channel, Sky News and Sky Sports News, among others. Participants will use the Nokia 7710 handset throughout the trial. In Finland mobile TV tests have also just started with 500 users able to watch MTV, CNN, BBC World, and Eurosport, in addition to domestic Finnish television.

The purpose of these is to test the technical back-end and the end-user experience. Apparently the head of media business development at NTL Broadcast already knows that �over half of UK mobile users are very interested in watching their favourite TV programmes on their mobile�. Now they want to study how will people use their phones to keep up with news or watch music videos while on the move.

I have nothing against testing products before mercilessly throwing them into the market. TV everywhere! Sounds good. Yet, one can be more skeptic about what the real purpose of these trials is. Clearly, evidence of high consumer interest will play in favour of mobile operators when Ofcom licenses new spectrum frequencies�Will 350 Oxonians be sufficient evidence?