Informa Telecoms & Media reports that persistently declining voice revenues, exacerbated by the need to pay off expensive 3G licences, mean that operators will seize any opportunity to generate data revenues. Mobile TV and video provides many revenue streams and, with the right content strategies and business models in place, promises to have mass market appeal.
Despite the well-documented convergence that is now taking place in order to facilitate the provision of mobile TV and video services, there is a fundamental difference between the telecoms and television industries; whereas the telecoms industry has been technology-led, the television industry has been content-led.
It is becoming apparent that the provision of quality content and the strength of brands will be what drives uptake of mobile TV, rather than technology per se. Although technology is an important enabler, content is what is really important. Mobile operators must adjust their focus to this end.
When creating content that will be compelling and drive uptake, content developers need first to consider their audience. The 'young male' demographic is currently over-represented among the early adopters of mobile TV and video content services while the female demographic is proving harder to attract.
In South Korea, for example, 62 percent of SK Telecom/TU Media's mobile TV subscribers are male; of these, 39.2 percent are in their 20s and 25.8 percent are in their 30s. However, it is difficult to know which came first: the content or the audience? Did compelling male-oriented content (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?
Despite the well-documented convergence that is now taking place in order to facilitate the provision of mobile TV and video services, there is a fundamental difference between the telecoms and television industries; whereas the telecoms industry has been technology-led, the television industry has been content-led.
It is becoming apparent that the provision of quality content and the strength of brands will be what drives uptake of mobile TV, rather than technology per se. Although technology is an important enabler, content is what is really important. Mobile operators must adjust their focus to this end.
When creating content that will be compelling and drive uptake, content developers need first to consider their audience. The 'young male' demographic is currently over-represented among the early adopters of mobile TV and video content services while the female demographic is proving harder to attract.
In South Korea, for example, 62 percent of SK Telecom/TU Media's mobile TV subscribers are male; of these, 39.2 percent are in their 20s and 25.8 percent are in their 30s. However, it is difficult to know which came first: the content or the audience? Did compelling male-oriented content (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?