Think adult content is a safe play for wireless carriers? Try asking Canadian operator Telus Corp.
Telus quietly dropped its racy offerings last week-less than two months after raising eyebrows by becoming the first Canadian carrier to dip its toe into the adult content waters-after customers objected to the service. The operator had registered and age-verified several thousand customers willing to pay $3 to download nude images or $4 for video files of nude or partial nudity; hardcore pornography was not available through the offering.
Telus was forced to discontinue the steamy stuff, though, after receiving several hundred complaints. Vancouver, British Columbia’s Catholic archdiocese told 130 parishes and schools to cancel their Telus contracts, and the company said some corporate customers also questioned the content.
While the carrier planned no formal announcement of the decision, spokesman Jim Johansson confirmed the move.
“We’re in the business of introducing new products and services all the time, and part of our process includes reflecting on customer feedback,” Johansson said. “In this case, we did get a number of comments from customers who were concerned about the nature of this type of service on their cell phones. We did ultimately decide to withdraw (the service).”
Telus’ retreat seems to validate the fears of U.S. carriers, which have effectively distanced themselves from all but the most innocuous content. While R-rated mobile content and even hardcore porn have thrived in Europe and some emerging markets, North American operators have largely refused to allow adult content providers to bill through monthly statements.
The stance has shackled the market for racy mobile content, vendors say, by forcing consumers looking for naughty material to reach for their credit cards. And just as the public response to Telus’ service raised consumer awareness of mobile adult content, it’s certain to solidify the stances of U.S. operators.
Destined as niche application
“I think what it comes down to is the loud minority has had their voice heard and the silent majority-those who don’t care either way or those who enjoy the service-weren’t heard from,” said one content vendor who requested anonymity. “I think the minority that is raising the ruckus is an uninformed minority. All they focused on was two words: adult content. I don’t think they see that a carrier like Telus was trying to protect the consumer who doesn’t want to view this.”
The backlash also underscores the growing controversy surrounding everything from images of bikini-clad women to hardcore porn on the wireless Web. Telus suffered the slings of consumers for its Playboy-style offerings, but an increasing number of sites offer far more explicit images and videos to users willing to wander off carrier decks. Indeed, PhoneErotica.com, a leading adult WAP site, rings up “a few hundred thousand dollars a year” from U.S. mobile subscribers-despite the fact that only a small fraction of American consumers use their phones to surf the mobile Internet.
But while it’s difficult to imagine any U.S. operator granting deck space to anything racier than a Maxim photo shoot, vendors and carriers continue to consider ways to cash in on adult content without offending consumers. A few companies in other markets have launched branded portals that allow carriers to gently push porn-seeking consumers off the deck and safely “outside” the carrier’s realm.
Regardless of what hoops a user may have to jump through to access such stuff, though, industry insiders say the U.S. adult mobile content business is destined to remain a niche market unless operators agree to bill consumers on behalf of content vendors.
“That stuff is out there already. It’s hard to use the word ‘noble’ when it comes to adult content, but (Telus) really did have an earnest plan to contain or box this in such a way that it could be controlled,” said the content provider who wished to remain unnamed. “Ultimately, there are a number of ways to offer this. Maybe what can be learned is that Telus offered it on-deck, and maybe that’s not the place for it to reside.”
