Do consumers actually want mobile TV?

A new survey by Continental Research has revealed that the number of subscribers to mobile TV is actually decreasing. How significant is this for the industry?

At this stage, not very. In other parts of the world mobile TV is much more established and has proved to be a success. The UK has never been an ‘early adopter’ market and there is enough momentum behind mobile TV to ensure that this early blip in adoption will be overcome.

What the industry does need to do though, is make sure that it has a compelling proposition for the average consumer. In terms of content we are getting there, but operators need to make their charging models clear and above all, affordable. Making mobile TV easy to use is crucial, and a user-friendly navigation system could be instrumental in boosting subscription numbers. Once everything is in place I’m confident mobile TV will really take off in the UK. To borrow a line from the movies – “if you build it, they come!”

Mobile TV comes into focus at Berlin event

The Medienwoche Berlin-Brandenburg media event in August/September is to take an in-depth look at the state of mobile TV in Europe.

Mobile TV has been the ‘next big thing’ for a while now without ever really taking off outside of the Asia-Pacific region. Why is this? Is it cultural differences, or just a question of the content and/or technology not being of sufficient quality yet?

Whatever the reason, the situation is expected to change over the next 12 – 18 months. T-Mobile UK has just launched Pocket Comedy TV, a mobile TV channel, and there are a number of pilot projects cropping up across the sector. People are gradually getting used to the idea of watching television on their mobile handsets, which means that the industry will have to move quickly to meet the demand.

Our prediction is that within a few years mobile TV will be as common as texting is now, providing operators can get their pricing strategy right. With the European Commission this week calling for a standard for mobile TV it may not be long before the small screen becomes the mainstream.