Japan’s largest mobile operator and major television stations have announced plans to launch a mobile-only television station. The station will launch next year with the name ‘nottv’. Although not a station that you can watch on your TV lift cabinet, it is a very interesting concept. Back in July, Japan switched all TV broadcasting from analog to digital. Nottv will take advantage of the available analog frequencies to broadcast the station. All shows will be around 10 minutes in length. The objective is to provide short programs that viewers can tune into while they are out and about. Mmbi, the company operating nottv, believes this will be a more personal and interactive way to reach the viewers than watching standard TV at home. All content will be stored in an on-demand format, allowing viewers the opportunity to watch what they want, when they want. Keeping with the trend of incorporating social media with entertainment, nottv will allow viewers to live comment on Twitter and Facebook about shows they are currently watching. A couple of hurdles remain before nottv can begin broadcasting. The developers are awaiting final approval from the government to use public airwaves. Secondly, in order to tune in to nottv, smart phones will require a special tuner. Luckily, Japan’s largest mobile phone service provider is one of nottv’s biggest investors. Overcoming these roadblocks should be done by early next year, giving nottv an expected launch date of April 2012.