There is only a modest interest in mobile TV, according to studies by Circle Research carried out on behalf of the GSM Association in 15 markets.
In a list of “best potential” for mobile phone usage, TV ranks only in 11th place, after SMS messaging, mobile email, MMS, IMS, location based services, mobile radio and other applications.
The best potential is for those applications “that have a high level of current usage”, said David William of Circle. Mobile TV is fairly new and only used by 7% of all respondents and really only in Japan and Korea. Respondents require a lot of mobile TV. “It must be available all the time at all places, and picture quality must be perfect. So it will be very difficult to live up to its expectations if it is not to go the way of other applications such as WAP.”
What do people want to see on their mobile? News comes first, followed by (in order) weather, comedy, documentaries, sports, music, programmes made especially for mobile, extra features, games, and quizzes. “But preference vary greatly country by country,” according to William. “For instance, people in India have comedy at the number spot, but Germans and Brits the weather.” People living in the Czech Republic and Malaysia mostly appreciate adult content.
What is the best business model for mobile TV? People across two continents (Europe, Asia) agree that it should be advertising funded, with 58% and 57% of all respondents respectively saying it should be free to view. In North America 54% of people prefer paying for advertising free content, obviously because there are already immersed by advertising on their regular TV screens.
Of the people who said they are willing to pay, most preferred to do so through a fixed monthly subscription fee: 61% in Europe, 71% in Asia and 74% in North America.
The others preferred the pay-per-view option. Again, there are some regional differences, with Germans remarkably favouring pay-per-view to a subscription fee.