Sling Media and the 3 Group, a leader in 3G mobile broadband, have announced that they are partnering to give customers access to their home TV channels on mobile handsets. Using the latest mobile broadband handsets and a Slingbox, mobile customers will be able to watch anything they are able to watch on their own TV.

The SlingPlayer Mobile service will be exclusive to 3 customers who purchase both an X-Series handset and a Slingbox. The X-Series from 3 will be available in the UK from the 1st December 2006 and in 3’s other markets around the world in early 2007.

SlingPlayer Mobile is designed to deliver the home TV experience on mobile handsets using standard 3G network connections. Any programme that can be watched at home will be viewable through a Slingbox and compatible SlingPlayer Mobile software pre-installed on two new handsets, the Nokia N73 and the Sony Ericsson W950i, including support for terrestrial TV, Freeview, cable, and satellite TV.

In addition SlingPlayer Mobile lets customers control their TV recorder at home to watch recorded shows, pause and rewind live TV or even queue a recording when away from home using the handset.

The combined mobile TV experience is driven by Sling Media’s Slingbox. The Slingbox redirects a single live TV stream from a standard cable connection, cable box, satellite receiver, or PVR to the viewer’s PC—located anywhere in the home or anywhere in the world—or 3G handset.

“The availability of SlingPlayer Mobile for 3 customers is a major breakthrough in mobile TV viewing. Customers can now view all the programmes they love to watch at home whilst on the move via their mobile phone,” said Blake Krikorian, co-founder and CEO of Sling Media.