Early Movers in Mobile TV are Poised to Capture a Burgeoning Market

Traditional television has had a glorious run. For decades, broadcasters and content providers have extracted profit from this media conduit to the mass market by offering a growing array of channels and scheduled programming on ever-bigger screens.

However, this paradigm is now being challenged by the Internet, ever-growing data rates on both wireline and wireless networks, as well as the proliferation of content formats and devices. End users, meanwhile, have become more demanding and fragmented, splitting their precious time among myriad media choices, channels and platforms while younger viewers move beyond the TV content consumed by their parents’ generation. As a result, traditional TV is experiencing significant erosion of viewers and advertising revenues.
The marriage of the mobile and broadcast worlds has given rise to mobile TV — enabling viewers to access their favorite programs however, wherever and whenever they want. While there are clear opportunities for service providers associated with this trend, it represents unfamiliar territory for many in the communications industry. To succeed in this space, operators will be challenged with:
• Delivering a compelling end-user experience (for example, graphically pleasing, easy to use and interactive)
• Providing a wide selection of attractive handsets and devices
• Offering a broad range of appealing content
• Establishing an appropriate business model for the target market and culture
• Offering transparent tariff plans
• Developing effective go-to-market strategies
• Choosing the right underlying technologies
• Complying with regulatory environments (for example, spectrum availability)
A Growing Opportunity
According to ABI Research, the number of mobile TV subscribers worldwide will grow from 11 million in 2006 to 462 million in 2012, representing a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 85%. But cashing in on this growth will require service providers to make significant changes to existing network infrastructures and business models.
The migration away from analog TV will free spectrum to enable service providers to build dedicated broadcast networks. The acceleration of mobile broadcast networks (such as DVB-H and MediaFlo), the 4G network adoption (LTE/WiMAX (News - Alert)) and the proliferation of user-friendly handsets and other portable multimedia devices will increase the advantage gained by the early movers in this space.
Differentiation from voice-centric plans is just the beginning of the journey. Service providers are at a pivotal point to leverage the merging broadcast and telecom worlds. This fusion will empower new levels of converged and blended services, for example seamless multi-screen experience and interactive targeted advertisements, allowing users to have anytime/anywhere access to the content they crave, while enabling service providers to implement innovative business models and tap into new revenue streams.
A close look at some of the trendsetters in mobile TV services should provide inspiration and encouragement to service providers considering moving into this space.