NTT DoCoMo to buy 2.6% stake in Fuji Television

Televisionpoint.com Team
NTT DoCoMo Inc, Japan's largest mobile phone carrier, has agreed to take a 2.6% stake in Fuji Television Network Inc as the two companies discuss digital broadcasting to mobile phones.

NTT DoCoMo will pay 20.71 billion yen ($178.5 million) for the stake on January 11, the company said on Wednesday. The companies are discussing ways to link mobile communications and broadcasting, NTT DoCoMo said.

"The partners will cooperate closely with each other by sharing their respective resources and expertise to create a new market and develop innovative services in the field of mobile communications and broadcasting," the company said.

NTT DoCoMo has been seeking new profit sources to offset falling revenue from voice transmissions. Through the tieup, NTT DoCoMo seeks to develop technology and services for terrestrial digital broadcasting service for cell phone users, slated to begin next spring, according to a report in the Nihon Keizai Shimbun newspaper. The companies will co-develop a service combining data broadcasting and TV programs for subscribers, the newspaper said.