SAN FRANCISCO—Content providers will need to deliver compelling programming for mobile video to grow beyond the young, male demographic it currently attracts, two new reports indicate.
Mobile TV is already drawing a key demographic for advertisers, according to Telephia. Wireless users between the ages of 18 and 24 represent the highest penetration rate for mobile video, with 3.3 percent of subscribers tuning in. Only 1.2 percent of female subscribers accessed video content on their handsets, while 1.8 percent of men watched wireless TV.
Subscribers who access MobiTV and Verizon Wireless L.L.C.’s Vcast spend roughly $40 more per month than non-TV users, the report added.
But operators must offer interesting content if mobile video is to move beyond early adopters into the mass market, according to Informa Telecoms and Media. While young men may be the most likely group to watch wireless video, a variety of video offerings could lure other demographic segments.
“It is difficult to know which came first: the content or the audience,” the firm noted, citing high numbers of young male viewers in South Korea. “Did compelling male-oriented (notably, sports/adult) create demand from young males or did demand from young males cause this type of content to become a priority for content developers?”
And Informa warns that operators may not be well-positioned to cash in on mobile video.
“It is the content owners that are best placed to capture the lion’s share of the revenue,” according to Helen Ponsford, who authored the report. “They can take advantage of their control over mobile broadcast rights to ensure that distribution of content is on their terms rather than that of the operator.”
