INSIGHTanalysis: Media Healthcheck – May 2007
In May, a study carried out by StrategyOne for Motorola’s Connected Home Solutions Division revealed that almost half of Europe is now regularly watching TV over the internet.
Meanwhile, In-Stat forecast that worldwide broadband subscribers will number 567 million by 2011, with the past 12 months having seen approximately 65 million new broadband subscribers signed up globally.
In-Stat added that by 2011, worldwide DSL subscribers will account for 58% of all worldwide broadband connections (see Worldwide Broadband Subscribers To Reach 567 Million).
Focusing on the UK, Hitwise said that Silver Surfers – people aged 55 and over – are set to overtake the 35-44s as the age group with the largest representation online.
According to Hitwise, those aged 55+ accounted for 22% of UK visits to all categories of websites in the four weeks to 12 May 2007, up 54% since 2005 and 40% since 2006 (see Silver Surfers Boost Online Presence).
Moving to the US, Leichtman Research Group said that in the first quarter of 2007, the nineteen largest cable and telephone providers in the US – representing about 94% of the market – acquired over 2.9 million net additional high-speed internet subscribers (see 2.9 Million Add High-Speed Internet In The US).
Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for Leichtman Research Group, said: “Cable’s record success in the first quarter of 2007 is emblematic of the industry’s ability to evolve beyond its core television heritage.
“The top cable companies now have over 30 million broadband subscribers, and about 10 million telephone subscribers, to complement their enhanced TV offerings.”
Sticking with the US, a forecast from JupiterResearch claimed that 70% of homes there – some 86 million households – will have broadband internet access by 2012 (see 70% Of US Homes To Have Broadband By 2012).
JupiterResearch added that although it expects the number of dial-up internet households – currently about 33 million – to drop by over two-thirds by 2012, the market for dial-up service will not disappear completely.
During the middle of the month, comScore and Telephia released a study which said that 5.7 million people in the UK used a mobile device to go online during January 2007 compared to the 30 million people age 15 or older who accessed the web from a PC (either a home or a work machine).
The research, MobileWeb Metrix, revealed that UK mobile web users under 35 years of age account for 67% of the entire mobile web audience in the UK, whereas the same age segment accounts for 39% of the PC-based internet audience (see 5.7 Million Use Mobile Internet In January In UK).
Finally, a report from Screen Digest predicted that by 2011 mobile TV revenue will reach €4.7 billion from 140 million subscribers.
Screen Digest added that the mobile game market is also growing and by 2011 it will be worth €2 billion (see Mobile TV Revenue To Grow).