CELLULAR MOBILE TV may still be seen as niche, but could be poised to earn billions in revenue, according to new research from In-Stat.
Worldwide Cellular and Broadcast TV says that as 3G subscribers grow, the total potential market for mobile TV providers results in impressive market gains. For example, MobiTV subscriber growth and daily viewership for its mobile media service grew 49% from 2008 – 2009, for services that start at $9.99 a month in the U.S.
“Getting mobile subscribers to pay for TV services on their mobile devices has been daunting as users have clearly gravitated to free broadcast or Internet-based content on their phones,” said Frank Dickson, VP Research for In-Stat, in a press release. “As a result, pay mobile TV results have been disappointing, relegating cellular mobile TV as a niche service. However, niche services in cellular can still drive huge revenue.”
The report predicts that Asia/Pacific will drive mobile TV subscriptions, primarily in India and China, where cellular mobile TV subscriptions will reach nearly 95 million by 2014.
The research also found:
– Cellular mobile TV subscribers will generate over $15 billion in subscription revenue by 2014;
– Latin America will see subscription growth of 800% in digital mobile subscribers in 2010; and
– Mobile TV broadcasting standards remain fragmented by geographic region worldwide, with CMMB, ISDB-T (1seg), ATSC-M/H, DVB-H, MediafloFLO and DMB all finding deployments.
