London, 8th June 2006 - 2006 is the year that the mobile TV picture starts to become clearer, according to a major strategic report released today by Informa Telecoms & Media. The study, entitled "Mobile TV: Broadcast and Mobile Multimedia", predicts 210 million subscribers by 2011: in that year 10% of all mobile handsets sold will have a broadcast receiver. The soccer World Cup has provided the spark for the launch of a number of broadcast services in Europe, led by 3 in Italy and Debitel in Germany, and Informa Telecoms & Media anticipates that $300m of revenue will come from users accessing streaming and broadcast services over the World Cup.
Mobile TV will ultimately owe its success to the type and format of content that is made available. One of the primary objectives of the broadcast technology trials underway from the likes of BT Movio in the UK and BSkyB and Qualcomm in Europe, is to discover the best type of content for mobile and short-mode use. Two formats are proving most popular. The first, "Mobisodes", uses custom made-for-mobile episodes of hit TV shows, such as "24". The second, "Simulcast" involves transmitting the same programming users are familiar with from traditional television in real-time or alongside the TV broadcast. The 2006 Fifa World Cup will likely see examples of both formats.
"This year's World Cup will prove a major catalyst for mobile TV growth. It will give operators a chance to show what they can already do and test consumer demand. But the real growth will take place over the next five years. As soon as the 2008 Olympics we'll all be much more prepared to watch TV on our phones and by the 2010 World Cup the infrastructure will be mature and one in thirteen mobile phone users worldwide will own a mobile TV handset," commented David McQueen, Senior Analyst and report author for Informa Telecoms & Media.
PLATFORM AND HANDSETS A significant number of technical and business issues have had to be resolved in order for mobile TV to reach a viable platform from which to launch. Technical standards for mobile TV have been emerging, and the next five years will see a proliferation of devices operating on different mobile TV technical standards including DVB-H, MediaFlo and T-DMB. By 2011, Informa Telecoms & Media forecasts that DVB-H handsets will form the bulk of all broadcast receiver handset sales (63%), equating to 73 million units, followed by MediaFLO devices with sales expected to reach 14.5 million.
Since the first broadcast mobile devices were launched in early 2005 by Samsung and LG for the Korean market, the size and form factor of the new crop of devices for 2006 has improved immeasurably. Many of the newer models have swivel screens to allow for widescreen viewing, and each handset invariably incorporates a high resolution, high colour, anti-glare screen. Sound quality is of high importance in the device, with stereo speakers added to most, as it is this characteristic which is perceived as the yardstick of the overall TV experience irrespective of picture quality. Battery life issues have largely been resolved; current generation devices can sustain 3-4 hours continuous playback against a typical user profile of 3 hours use per week, based on trial information.
SHARING THE SPOILS Mobile TV engages a significant number of stakeholders: mobile operators, content providers, broadcasters and handset providers, and the models for revenue split are still forming as relationships between mobile operators and content providers develop. Users are unlikely to pay for premium operator branded TV content in the way that they do for more conventional mobile content. As with mobile music and gaming, Informa Telecoms & Media predicts the final revenue splits will be in favour of the content providers, as users will not pay for mobile TV without the guarantee of familiar, compelling content.
Mobile TV will be adopted at different rates in different regions as the necessary broadcast infrastructure is put in place and as handsets begin to proliferate. Asia-Pacific will lead the way with 95.1 million anticipated subscribers by 2011, as innovative services from Korean operators continue to gain traction in that market and China and Japan follow suit. Europe, with its relatively advanced infrastructure will see 68.7 million subscribers by 2011, with spikes as operators launch services to coincide with the 2006 Fifa World Cup and again in 2009 when a more complete infrastructure base is likely to be achieved. Middle East and Africa will follow with 9.5 million subscribers in 2011 and The Americas with 9.1 million.
"TV is a medium that everyone understands, and so is mobile. Combining the two in the imagination of consumers is not as great a challenge as it is for other forms of mobile entertainment," commented McQueen. "But whilst people buy into the idea of mobile TV, some of the finer details are yet to be fully resolved: finding a suitable price point and delivering compelling content to name two. This year we think we will see these issues begin to be fully resolved and the rapid uptake of mobile TV devices and services will commence," concluded McQueen.
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ABOUT MOBILE TV STRATEGIC REPORT Completely updated and revised for 2006, the Mobile TV Strategic Report - 2nd Edition - from Informa Telecoms & Media provides a detailed, thorough analysis of the mobile & broadcasting industry including:
- likely factors for the success of competing technologies
- in-depth analysis of the business case for mobile TV
- case-studies of major players and the value chain
- subscriber forecasts & revenue opportunities
ABOUT INFORMA TELECOMS & MEDIA Informa Telecoms & Media is the leading provider of business intelligence and strategic marketing solutions to global telecoms and media markets. Driven by constant first-hand contact with the industry our 90 analysts and researchers produce a range of intelligence services including news and analytical products, in-depth market reports and Datasets focused on technology, strategy and content. Informa Telecoms & Media also organizes more than 125 annual events, attended by more than 70,000 executives. In addition to the GSM>3G World Series, our events cover subjects as diverse as fixed and mobile operator strategy, technology, TV, mobile music and games. Informa Telecoms & Media is always willing to work with journalists to provide stats, data or comment for articles.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Kathryn Bushnell
Marketing & Communications
Informa Telecoms & Media
Tel +44 (0) 20 7017 4852
Email
kathryn.bushnell@informa.com Andre Labadie / Armand David
Director Brands2Life
+44 (0) 207 592 1200
informatm@brands2life.com