US Mobile TV Popular Among Males and Younger People
Nearly two out of three US mobile TV subscribers are male, and nearly half are below the age of 35, according to the results of a new study from comScore.
46% of those who currently subscribe to Mobile TV are below the age of 35 and 65% are male. Males were also more likely than average to be interested in Mobile TV, while females were more likely to report being not interested.
| Demographic Profile of Mobile TV | ||||
| Percent of Respondents | ||||
| All Respondents | Subscribes to Mobile TV | Interested in Mobile TV | Not Interested in Mobile TV | |
| Gender | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Male | 50% | 65% | 54% | 41% |
| Female | 50% | 35% | 46% | 59% |
| Age | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| 18 – 24 Years Old | 8% | 17% | 7% | 5% |
| 25 – 34 Years Old | 25% | 29% | 29% | 21% |
| 35 – 44 Years Old | 29% | 30% | 30% | 28% |
| 45 – 54 Years Old | 24% | 13% | 22% | 26% |
| 55 – 64 Years Old | 11% | 11% | 8% | 16% |
| 65+ Years Old | 2% | 0% | 2% | 3% |
| Source: comScore Mobile TV Study | ||||
Serge Matta, senior vice president of comScore Telecom Solutions: While the use of Mobile TV is a growing trend among mobile phone users, its current devotees appear to be the early adopters of new technologies.
“As is the case with the majority of technology lifecycles, early adopters include many younger and male consumers. Once the early adopters have had a chance to fully engage with the technology and share their experiences with friends, relatives and colleagues, Mobile TV is substantially more likely to reach a critical mass in the marketplace.”
Overall, consumers would prefer to watch traditional-style mobile TV content rather than modified or specialized content. 56% of respondents would prefer to watch the “entire TV show” rather than a condensed version and 53% favoured general content (such as news) over focused content (such as extreme sports programming).
However, of those who currently subscribe to mobile TV, 46% prefer general content to focused content and 43% prefer entire TV shows to condensed TV shows. Those interested in mobile TV preferred local news, dramas, movies and sitcoms above other content.
ComScore also questioned consumers about their top considerations in selecting a mobile TV service. Approximately 71% of the respondents said that “cost of service” was a top consideration.
However, 67% of respondents who are interested in subscribing to mobile TV also said that they would be willing to watch sponsored advertisements in return for free subscriptions, while 64% also favoured a test period before committing to a subscription.
Americans also indicated that they place a high value on the quality of the viewing experience when choosing a mobile TV service. Half (50%) said that “picture quality” was very important, while 47% indicated the same for “screen size” and 43% for “channel reception”.
| Key Motivators in Subscribing to Mobile TV Service | ||||
| Percent of Respondents | ||||
| All Respondents | Subscribes to Mobile TV | Interested in Mobile TV | Not Interested in Mobile TV | |
| Cost of service | 71% | 64% | 76% | 63% |
| Picture quality | 50% | 49% | 59% | 36% |
| Screen size | 47% | 47% | 49% | 44% |
| Channel reception | 43% | 46% | 54% | 27% |
| Available channels | 40% | 52% | 53% | 20% |
| Sound quality | 39% | 39% | 48% | 27% |
| Source: comScore Mobile TV Study | ||||
A recent report from In-Stat said that mobile TV broadcast subscriber numbers will reach 125 million globally in 2011 (see Mobile TV Broadcast Market Expands).
Meanwhile, at the 3GSM World Congress in February the Chief Marketing Officer’s Council said that mobile TV stands in next to last place, in terms of popularity, among all existing mobile services (see Lack Of Consumer Interest In Mobile TV).