Europe : QuickPlay Media revealed the results of an independent Market Tools survey focused on mobile TV and video consumption in the UK. The research found that there are several barriers preventing people consuming TV and video content on their mobile phones, including a lack of awareness of the mobile TV and video services on offer (44%) and cost (33%) – a barrier that is set to erode as ‘all-you-can-eat’ data plans become more prevalent in the market place.

The demand for consumers to watch mobile TV is there, with 65 per cent of respondents stating that they are willing to spend time watching an advert if it meant that the mobile TV or video content they consume is free or discounted. On the other side of the coin, if mobile TV and video were to be charged for, 22 per cent said that they would prefer a pay-per-use business model and 13 per cent outlined a preference for an additional monthly subscription that would deliver the content without adverts

“Operators across the world have invested heavily in improving their network structures to handle high-speed data transfer, but as an industry it seems that we are challenged by the last hurdle in marketing and selling these innovative data-based services to the public. There is a clear lack of awareness by end-users about what services they can enjoy, and what it will cost them to start watching,” commented Wayne Purboo ( inset ), CEO of QuickPlay Media. 

Purboo added “The survey shows that perceived cost is a key barrier to mobile TV and video consumption in the UK so one option for operators and content owners is an advertising-based mobile TV and video offering – a solution that we have successfully rolled out with some of our customers in other parts of the world. Furthermore, the shift by European operators to offer unlimited data packages will start to remove the barriers for consumers to test and adopt data-based services such as mobile TV and video.”

Two in five people have watched TV and video content on their mobile phone, with many now regularly using such services. Eighteen per cent of those that have tried a mobile TV and video service watch on a weekly basis, with more than a third watching almost on a daily basis.

For consumers that are currently using mobile TV and video, the research highlights that as many as 46 per cent have used it at home, an interesting statistic considering that consumers have other platforms available to them, such as TV and computers, to consume TV and video content.  In relation to this, 30 per cent stated that they would watch mobile TV and video in between activities and 28 per cent said it was a service that they used while in transit.

 Other interesting findings of the survey include:

• As many as 33 per cent have watched TV or video on their mobile for up to 60 minutes or longer
• 41 per cent of those surveyed would consider the ability to pause and resume content a deciding factor in whether or not they would watch longer forms of content, such as a full-length movie, on a mobile device

• 72 per cent do not recall having viewed adverts on their mobile handset.  For those that had 53 per cent said these were received as SMS/text ads, and 34 per cent said that they were video ads

When compared against the results of a US study of mobile consumers with comparable demographic profiles the results were very similar suggesting that habits and preferences of consumers, as well as the maturity of both markets, reflect each other.