By Monica Alleven
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Given the number of media and fans around the Staples Center in Los Angeles yesterday, it’s no wonder the airwaves were ablaze.
Verizon Wireless reports that from 10 a.m. to noon Pacific time, voice attempts on its network around the location of Michael Jackson’s memorial service were up 10 percent compared with the same time on Monday. Data attempts for text messaging and mobile Web were up a whopping 86 percent.
Of course, people who couldn’t be there or watch the service on TV could always turn to various mobile services. Verizon Wireless says it streamed MSNBC coverage on its V CAST Video service throughout the day and showed coverage on several channels on V CAST Mobile TV.
Figures were not immediately available from FLO TV for the memorial service, but the Qualcomm subsidiary that provides mobile TV services to carriers saw a 70 percent spike in viewers shortly after the singer’s death was first reported, according to a spokeswoman.
GoTV Networks distributed live coverage of the memorial in partnership with AEG. There was no word as of press time on the demand or how the service performed. GoTV channels are available on Sprint TV, Verizon V CAST, AT&T, T-Mobile, Boost, Nextel, Alltel, Cricket and Virgin Mobile.
As a whole, the Internet appeared unaffected by the large amount of online traffic generated by the more than 1 million online viewers of Jackson’s memorial service, according to Keynote Systems, a mobile and Web site monitoring firm based in San Mateo, Calif. However, sites hosting up-to-the-second live news coverage took longer to download their home pages. Figures for mobile usage were not available.
Jackson’s music continues to be popular, with ringtones, ringback tones and full tracks in the top 10 on Verizon’s V CAST Music. The Michael Jackson tribute ringtone jukebox is the best-selling jukebox in Verizon Wireless’ history, the carrier said.
Last week, Sprint reported that its Music Store posted its biggest single day ever the day after Jackson’s death, with 25 percent of tracks sold belonging to the music icon. The most popular downloaded tracks were “Billie Jean” and “Thriller.”
Soon after news of the singer’s death, Google reported a spike in mobile search.