This year’s Mobile World Congress marks the 4th anniversary of the launch of Mobile World Live TV (MWL TV) – the event’s official broadcast service. Live TV hasn’t been without its challenges (I remember the studio losing all power 30 minutes into our opening morning broadcast back in 2011, just after our professional host had handed the presenting duties to my very amateur self), but it’s been great to be part of something that brings the event to a truly global audience.

ablottAnd, with five years’ experience under our belt, MWL’s reporter team has now mastered the art of looking into the right camera.

As we prepare for this year’s broadcast – and we can’t wait to bring the buzz of MWC15 to all attendees throughout the event and the city of Barcelona via our dedicated TV channel, as well as globally via our online stream – here’s 10 reasons to tune into MWL TV this year, whether you’re onsite or stuck back in the office:

  • BIG keynotes! MWL TV is the only place you will be able to watch live, uninterrupted coverage of two of the biggest names in mobile: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and FCC chairman Tom Wheeler. First up – after the success of his appearance at last year’s show – MWL TV is excited to welcome back Zuckerberg as he discusses efforts to extend connectivity to more people around the world. Our studio coverage will kick off at 5.45pm CET on Monday 2 March and will also feature Zuckerberg in conversation with the CEO of Airtel Africa, the SVP of Operations at Millicom, and the President and CEO of Telenor Group. And at the same time the following day Tom Wheeler will join GSMA director general Anne Bouverot in a fireside chat to discuss the impact of recent telecom regulation in the US, as well as the potentially global ramifications of Wheeler’s stance on net neutrality.
  • This year, we’re adding a little extra… If Facebook and the FCC don’t whet your appetite, how about tuning in to hear the thoughts of the man leading Google’s Android, Chrome & Apps strategy? In a special ‘MWL Extra’ session at 1.15pm Monday, we will broadcast an exclusive presentation by Sundar Pichai, the man described by Fortune as now “a clear No. 2 to Google CEO Larry Page.”
  • Our lineup of CEO interviews is (almost) an A-Z of the major players in the mobile industry. Our 25 interviews already confirmed for the show include the bosses of everyone from ARM to YotaPhone (we’re working on ZTE!).
  • We’ve been promised time in the studio with musician will.i.am and comedy legend (and this year’s Awards host) John Cleese. We’re not quite sure how these interviews will pan out, but they won’t be dull.
  • On the subject of the awards, MWL TV will bring you extensive coverage of this year’s special 20th anniversary event. From nominee debates and winner interviews in our studio, to highlights of the awards ceremony and aftershow party, MWL TV will capture all the action.
  • In a first this year, MWL TV is joining such giants in the broadcast industry as the BBC and BSkyB by teaming up with Ericsson to offer event attendees a captioning (subtitle) service on 26 screens throughout the venue. Ericsson’s technology will ensure viewers onsite can follow every word.
  • In another new development this year, MWL will be capturing and sharing the buzz of the showfloor via mobile. Our reporter Ronan Shields will be filming video snippets of the coolest and quirkiest tech and publishing this content socially, so keep an eye out on our Twitter and Facebook pages (as well as the GSMA social accounts) for this series of videos throughout the week.
  • MWL TV will broadcast highlights of every major press event and device launch at MWC15. Ericsson, HTC, Huawei, Mozilla, LG, Samsung and Sony are all planning announcements before we’ve even made it to mid-morning coffee on the opening day of the show.
  • We’ll be inviting experts into the studio to discuss the hottest industry issues. Our lineup of 20 panel discussions will cover everything from 5G and big data through to wearables and the smart home of the future.
  • Each evening our studio host Sasha Twining will review the day’s action, joined by a panel of industry experts. Exclusive keynote highlights from that morning’s conference session will broadcast, as well as all the buzz from the showfloor – don’t miss the Daily Wrapup show.

We’re just a few days away from live transmission – MWL TV will be streamed to the homepage of our site from 8.30am on Monday 2 March. And don’t forget that all the week’s content will be available in bite-sized programme chunks once the event closes its doors for another year. So if you miss any of the live broadcast and want to relive a particular programme, every piece of content will be available for replay just days after we’ve said adios to Barcelona.

Have a great show. And stay tuned!