9am: BSkyB and mobile phone operator Vodafone have joined forces to launch a mobile television service for the UK.
BSkyB and mobile phone operator Vodafone have joined forces to launch a mobile television service for the UK.

From tomorrow [1 November], Sky Mobile TV will be a 19 channel service including 24 hour news, entertainment and documentary programmes and live coverage of the English cricket team's tour to Pakistan from Sky Sports.

Some channels will be broadcast live and others will be reversioned or 'made for mobile' channels, featuring regularly updated blocks of programming.

The service will be available free of charge to all Vodafone customers with 3G phones until the end of 2006 and from February customers will then be charged£5 per month for each of the Sky Mobile TV packs to which they subscribe.

The first Sky Mobile TV pack is, News, Sport & Factual which includes, Sky News, CNN, Bloomberg, Sky Sports News, At The Races, Discovery Factual, National Geographic and History Channel.

The other is entertainment and music, with access to Sky One, Sky Movies, two channels from MTV, Living TV, Discovery Lifestyle, Nickelodeon, Paramount Comedy, Cartoon Network, Bravo and the Biography Channel.

The news comes ahead of BSkyB's AGM on Friday [4 November] at which the satellite group faces a revolt by some of its major shareholders who are set to vote against a share buy back that would increase the stake held by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation.

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