Interest in mobile broadband services such as radio and music downloads is increasing among younger consumers, with enthusiasm for commercial free radio the strongest, followed by music downloading and mobile television.
New research from The Management Network Group (TMNG) shows that, out of 1,000 US online consumers surveyed between the ages of 13 and 34, multiplayer gaming and video clips were the least popular mobile broadband service.
A study done by the Yankee Group in 2004 found a greater willingness among young adults to pay for live television and music on mobile phones than for short video clips.
According to the TMNG about one-quarter of online consumers surveyed claimed they would be extremely likely to obtain free commercially supported video clips for their phones.
Interest in video clips was found to be much lower, with less than 10% of respondents saying they were extremely likely to purchase such content, and 55% not interested at all.
Overall, current mobile video service revenues are very small, but a number of companies are predicted strong growth.
Frost & Sullivan recently released a study, forecasting mobile video revenues to rise to over $1.5 billion by 2009, up from $28.8 million in 2004 (see Mobile Service Providers To Deepen Mobile Content).
Recent research by Informa Telecoms and Media confirms this, predicting broadcast mobile television users to reach 124.8 million by 2010, with an inflection point predicted in 2009, as network rollout and device availability for the market reach a level of critical mass (see Broadcast Mobile TV Users Forecast To Hit 124.8 Million By 2010).
The market is forecast to grow to a total of 83.5 million units in 2010, up from 0.13 million in 2005. In comparison with mobile video-capable phones, the report predicts broadcast handset sales to be outstripped by almost 5-to-1 by 2010.
In the UK, NTL Broadcast and O2 recently announced trials testing the televisual capabilities of the next generation of mobile phones. BSkyB, Chart TV Show, Discovery Networks Europe, Shorts International and Turner Broadcasting will be among the first broadcasters to provide 16 television channels to customers with Nokia’s new 7710 handset (see NTL And O2 Start First Mobile TV Trials).
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