Study: Mobile TV Demand to Surge

BARCELONA, February 12: According to a consumer-behavior study conducted by Ericsson and CNN, more than a third—34 percent—of respondents ranked TV as the most in-demand mobile application and almost half—44 percent—of the respondents stated that they would adopt mobile TV in the next two years.

According to the report, nearly one in four (24 percent) current mobile-TV users watch daily, with around half (52 percent) tuning in on a weekly basis. At 77 percent, news leads genre-viewing patterns, followed by scheduled television at 48 percent.

The study also found that photo and video messaging are set for wide-scale adoption as consumer pricing and functionality improve. Fifty-seven percent of respondents use photo technology to send and receive images on a monthly basis, making it the most popular activity.

“The results of this research underscores CNN’s commitment to lead the rapidly changing trends that influence the way our audience consumes content,” commented Didier Mormesse, CNN International’s senior VP of ad sales research, development and audience insight. “We’ve enjoyed considerable growth in our mobile business over the past few years and continue to invest in industry-leading initiatives and new services. Research like this enables us to really get under the skin of what our consumers want, so our digital strategy satisfies our audience’s appetite for top quality news content when they’re on the move.”

Jan Wä²¥by, Ericsson’s senior VP and head of business unit Multimedia, added: “Although still in its infancy, mobile TV is clearly set to emerge as a popular service within the next few years. Driven by consumer appetite for the service, together with new usage patterns, mobile TV represents one of the biggest networked multimedia opportunities for cable and telecoms operators.”

—By Irene Lew