LONDON—Carriers looking to cash in on mobile video should take a cue from the television and film industries, according to a study from Informa Telecoms & Media.
Wireless TV will see impressive growth in the next few years, the market research firm said, growing from $2.46 billion in revenue this year to more than $8 billion by 2011. But studios could use help developing the video content that will fuel that growth.
“While mobile TV and video content is less expensive to produce than film or broadcast TV content, it still requires upfront production costs that typically run several thousand dollars per minute,” said Chris Coffman, a senior research analyst at Informa. “Revenue shares don’t fund the initial creation of content. The mobile TV and video sector would benefit from distributors, such as broadcasters, mobile operators and content aggregators, sharing in more of the risk.”
Indeed, traditional video production companies are already struggling with business models for mobile TV. Producers are struggling to come to terms with writers and actors for wireless video—contractual disputes have delayed mobile versions of the ABC hit “Lost” until next year—and are hesitant to invest heavily until a viable market for the content has been established.
“Everybody is screaming for content,” Thom Beers, chief executive officer of Original Productions, said a few weeks ago. “Nobody wants to pay for it, but everybody is screaming for content.”
