Mobile content revenues poised to jump threefold by 2014

Mobile content revenues are expected to more than triple from 2009 to 2014, according to a new report from eMarketer called “Mobile Content: Games, Music and Video Take to the Cloud.”
Building upon a compound annual growth rate of nearly 20%, revenues from mobile content is expected to rise from almost $1.15 billion in 2009 to $3.53 billion in 2014.
“The continuing advance of smart devices — including tablet-style computers, led by Apple’s iPad — and the growing ubiquity of mobile broadband networks mean that consumers have to make fewer compromises when it comes to the consumption of games, music and video,” said Noah Elkin, senior analyst at eMarketer and author of the new report. “An improved user experience, and the ability to access an ever-expanding variety of content from the cloud, will attract many new mobile content consumers in the next five years.”
Elkin and his team expect the fastest growth to come from music while games will be the most popular mobile activity by number of users. The number of subscribers using mobile video is expected to increase threefold over the period as well, as devices continue to improve and mobile broadband becomes more ubiquitous. As such, mobile video is expected to drive a compound annual growth rate of 25% over the five-year period.
“Platform integration is vital for the growth of mobile content,” Elkin said in prepared remarks. “The decade ahead heralds a wholesale shift in the content consumption experience. Consumers will expect games, music and video to be available on demand or via subscription on TVs, mobile and PC. The content owners that will thrive in this digital ecosystem are the ones that understand the need to deliver seamlessly across every possible platform.”