“Smartphone users who binge on video, games and other content must monitor their usage to ensure they don’t run over monthly data caps that wireless carriers have put in place in recent years,” Amol Sharma, Spencer E. Ante and Anton Troianovski report for The Wall Street Journal.
“Now, some media companies whose mobile content gets a lot of traffic are considering arrangements with wireless carriers that would ensure their users can watch, surf and play as much as they want without being hit with stiff overage charges,” Sharma, Ante and Troianovski report. “ESPN, the cable sports channel majority-owned by Walt Disney Co., DIS +0.99% has had discussions with at least one major U.S. carrier to subsidize wireless connectivity on behalf of its users, according to people familiar with the matter. Under one potential scenario, the company would pay a carrier to guarantee that people viewing ESPN mobile content wouldn’t have that usage counted toward their monthly data caps.”
Sharma, Ante and Troianovski report, “Such a deal would mark a significant development in the wireless business, creating a new model for media and telecom companies to share the costs of bringing bandwidth-guzzling services to consumers. Another way media companies could compensate carriers is by sharing advertising revenue with them.”
Read more in the full article here.