Report: Mobile TV Subscribers to Hit 462 Million by 2012

NEW YORK, January 24: A new study from ABI Research says
that the total number of mobile TV subscribers will rise to 462 million by
2012, driven largely by the expansion of 3G networks and flat-rate plans for
mobile video.

The study, titled Mobile TV Services, provides an overview of the mobile TV and video
industry. The build-out of mobile video delivery networks and an increase in
the amount of available content will also contribute to the growth of mobile
television.

“Mobile operators’ sustained investment in video delivery
will continue to be rewarded by subscribers’ growing adoption rates,
particularly as they upgrade to new video-capable handsets,” said Mike Wolf,
the research director at ABI Research. “Consumers are being increasingly
enticed by better experiences through more powerful and larger screens as well
as by a widening array of subscription options.”

ABI Research notes that the Asia-Pacific region will lead
the way in the growth of mobile television, with the number of subscribers to
grow from 24 million in 2007 to more than 260 million by 2012. High levels of
penetration will occur in both Japan and South Korea. Meanwhile, both China and
India are expected to contribute significantly to the overall total due to very
large subscriber populations, even though the overall penetration of video
services will remain much lower than in more technologically advanced
countries.

“South Korea and Japan will continue to lead worldwide, while
some countries in Western Europe will also continue to see strong growth,”
noted Wolf. “North America will also see some strong uptake as more services
become available in 2008 with the launch of AT&T’s MediaFLO service, the
continued expansion of Verizon Wireless’ MediaFLO subscriber base, and the
growth of on-demand mobile video services.”

—By Irene Lew