A method, a base station, an application server and a mobile device for transmitting and receiving media content are disclosed. A transceiver 302 may receive a unicast transmission specification and a broadcast transmission specification for the media content. A processor 304 may determine if a broadcast transmission for the media content is available. The processor 304 may initiate a unicast reception mode to receive the media content based on the unicast transmission specification if the current broadcast transmission is not available. A memory 308 may store the broadcast transmission specification for later reception of the media content in a broadcast reception mode if the current broadcast transmission is not available.