The iPad has been on sale in Europe for less than two months, and only in selected Countries but European tv networks are launching iPad and mobile apps and services.

The two continental giants RTL in Germany and France’s Canal Plus have launched apps providing live streaming of their network broadcasts this week. In the UK, the BBC said that 10% of all requests made by portable devices for its iPlayer catch up service last month came from iPad users. In the Netherlands commercial network SBS and pubweb NOS already have services ready for the iPad. Even the struggling commercial net Five is jumping on the iPad band wagon by announcing plans to launch a catch up TV app this autumn to coincide with the relaunch of its on demand service Demand Five.

European networks are hoping that Apple’s iPhone and its tablet could provide the launch pad for mobile TV and with it new lucrative revenue streams.

Cell phone use in Europe is higher than the U.S. and high-speed broadband is commonplace in all major centers. But the mobile television roll out in the region has been sluggish. Networks are counting on the iPad to change that.

The early signs are looking good. With RTL’s new live streaming app currently only available for the iPhone and iPod touch catapulted to the number two slot on Apple’s App Store in Germany in less than 24 hours after it was launch on Wednesday night. The service, which is free to download but charges users €1.59 a month ($2.00) after a 30-day trial period, allows live-streaming of RTL regular broadcasts, including hit formats “DSDS” and “Das Supertalent.” The RTL app also features an electronic program guide and push services for news and other events. In addition to the monthly charge, RTL includes tacks on pre-roll ads in front of its videos.

Robert Fahle, of the mobile services at RTL’s media division RTL interactive, said the network plans to launch an iPad ready app later this year, likely in time for the new television season this autumn.

We think the user base for the iPad will be different than for our iPhone and iPod apps,” Fahle said. “(iPhone users) typically use them several times a day for short periods getting news, the weather, checking out a short video. We expect the iPad’s larger screen will mean it is better suited to more and longer video and streaming content obviously ideal for a broadcaster like us.”

“Apps are an attractive business model, both paid and ad sponsored offerings,” said Manfred Neumann, the head of the mobile and new business at SevenOne Intermedia, a subsidiary of RTL competitor ProSiebenSat.1. SevenOne apps which will include live streaming services for hit format “Germany’s Next Top Model” and sports magazine “Ran”  have already gained over one million downloads in the Germany.

The iPad’s launch in Germany, France, Spain, Italy and the U.K. on May 28th joined nicely with the lead up to the soccer World Cup. With broadcasters such as the BBC and Sky Deutschland saw mobile viewership spike for the tournament thanks in part to iPad apps allowing fans to stream games live on the go.

Broadcasters from Barcelona to Berlin are also happy about the technology’s potential but problems still do remain. Rights are a major issue. RTL are not streaming any of there imported U.S. films or series via its new app, as it doesn’t have the rights. The BBC’s popular news app is now only available outside the country after British newspapers complained the service might damage the market for their own applications.

Another issue is the mobile infrastructure. Europe’s 3G networks are a step ahead of the U.S. in terms of coverage and capacity but it is unclear if they can handle the amount of data needed to provide seamless streaming of popular events. Broadcasters in quite a few European countries reported having problems during live streamings of The World Cup games.

“There could be network capacity problems for mobile streaming,” admitted Robert Fahle of RTL Interactive. “We’ve seen before on the Internet that popular video content has resulted in capacity issues for online networks. But we don’t want to wait for new mobile networks. We want to use the structure that is in place and are all counting on new mobile-TV technologies to allow more video streaming in the future.”

For the European networks, still suffering from a lack of traditional TV advertising, the mobile iPad-driven future, can’t come quick enough.

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