TechWeek: Mobile TV's Cup Runneth Over

Soccer fans have focused all week on Germany, where the World Cup is under way.

Tech firms also have shown a keen interest in the recent goings-on in Deutschland. That's because the tournament is a testing ground for what many hope will be the tech industry's next big thing: mobile TV.

At least two European cell-phone television services have gone live to coincide with the tournament, with plans to broadcast all 64 games in their entirety. And companies such as Texas Instruments(TXN Quote - Cramer on TXN - Stock Picks) and Nokia(NOK Quote - Cramer on NOK - Stock Picks) are planning special events around the tournament.

For the chip companies, handset makers and service providers involved, these first broadcasts should provide important feedback about consumers' appetite for mobile TV and the viability of the current technology.

Sports, after all, are considered one of the primary drivers for cell-phone TV viewing -- and the World Cup is the most widely watched sporting event in the world. If cell-phone TV flops at the World Cup, what hope is there?

Many tech companies, however, are expecting that the tournament will mark mobile TV's official coming-out party.

"What this industry needs for people to get [the appeal] is a really important event that you're going to see the value of. And I think that the World Cup is really a good intersect point for this industry," says Yoram Solomon, Texas Instruments' director of strategic marketing and industry standards.

Some surveys have found that only 5% to 11% of respondents would pay a monthly fee to get TV on their cell phones, says Solomon. But he says the numbers spike to as high as 75% after people have actually been exposed to mobile TV through demonstrations and trials.

TI and Nokia will host an event in Munich next month where guests can watch the semifinal match on cell phones.