Mobile TV only of interest to one in 30 consumers

More than two years after it launched, mobile TV is failing to ignite the interest of consumers, with only 1% using it and only 3% saying they were likely to try it in the coming year, according to a report from Continental Research.

Continental's annual mobile report identified a number of obstacles to increased take-up of mobile TV, including the fact that most mobile users want a compact phone with a small screen, which restricts the kind of programming suitable for mobiles.

There are continued reception problems for mobile TV services, especially when watched in the popular setting of train or coach journeys. Technical difficulties accessing the service are also putting off first-time users and creating poor word-of-mouth for mobile TV, the report said.

It concluded that mobile TV was unlikely to offer a significant income stream for networks in the immediate future.

Interest in mobile TV was highest among 16- to 24-year-olds, with just under one in ten -- three times the average -- saying they were likely to use mobile TV in the next year.
Report author Tim Barber said: "To promote take-up of mobile TV, networks should consider advertiser-funded content to enable customers to access the service (at least initially) for no fee at all.

"This would encourage people to sign up to the service, and download the necessary software or settings to their handsets so that if paid-for services are subsequently introduced, handsets will already be ready technically to use the service."
Barber said that the airtime required to receive the signal should also be free or of minimal cost, with users able to use the free or inclusive airtime minutes in their standard mobile tariff to watch mobile TV.

Most of the respondents who expressed a preference said they preferred a completely free service, paid for with a significant amount of advertising rather than a subscription-based service with no advertising. More than half of respondents expressed no preference between the two kinds of service.

Asked what kind of content they would like to see on mobile TV, respondents favoured news (53%), followed by music videos (47%) and comedies (38%).


Source: Brand Republic