Mobile TV to tap large potential market

Mobile Internet, The,  April, 2005  

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Consumers have a high degree of interest in mobile TV services, with 73 percent of US mobile users expressing interest in such services. However, they are also going to look closely at the price of such services. When a monthly price point of $15 was added to the service description, those likely to buy fell to 28 percent.

These findings are from a new survey conducted by ForceNine Consulting and SMS.ac. In spite of the stereotype of American males being more glued to their HD TVs, females actually expressed greater interest in the service. Interest among females at the $15 price point was 32 percent, versus 24 percent of males.

"While we are early in the commercial rollout of these services, it is clear that there his a high degree of potential demand for mobile TV," stated Andrew Roscoe, Partner with ForceNine Consulting and lead analyst on the study. "However, the survey did indicate significant price sensitivity at a $15 per month price point.

The impact of this price point on demand will only increase if significant programming is not included in the base fees and results in an even higher monthly bill." In other findings of the survey, consumers indicated that video games, local and national news clips, adult content, and music videos were the programming that most interested consumers for their mobile handsets.

Consumer interest for short features and TV show teasers did not generate significant interest, in spite of the fact that these have reportedly been some of the most popular downloads on the early stages of Verizon's VCAST service. "This may indicate that actual consumer behaviors will change after purchasing handsets and sampling potential programming types," stated Roscoe.

The survey was designed by ForceNine Consulting and sent out to SMS.ac's global community of mobile phone users in March, 2005. Approximately 50,000 registered members responded to the survey questions worldwide, with about 10,000 respondents in the US.

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