Wireless porn may titillate, but will it monetize?
Adult-oriented mobile content to increase due to Web-friendly phones
January 13 2009 - 6:16 pm ET | Colin Gibbs | RCR Wireless News
Airport newsstands sell porn.
That’s what I think of whenever I hear skeptics talk about an over-hyped market for adult mobile content. It’s tough to imagine more difficult or awkward place to, um, consume the salacious stuff than an airport — or, worse, an airplane — but people are picking up Penthouse and Hustler at the airport as they grab last-minute gum and newspapers.
So it’s no surprise that they’re increasingly using their mobiles to access porn. Online porn distributors Pink Visual and Digital Playground saw traffic soar after Christmas as users directed new iPhones and other multimedia gadgets to their destinations, according to a recent story from the news outlet AFP, as consumers took advantage of high-speed networks and big, colorful screens to check out NSFW material.
“The way people get their porn is changing,” Pink executive Kim Kysar said at the annual Adult Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas a few days ago, according to the AFP article. “It is going to be more personal and you get it anywhere you are: on the road, in the bathroom at work taking a break. Nobody is going to be the wiser.”
Kysar’s comments call attention to a trend that is as undeniable as it is potentially creepy. Consumers are finally firing up their browsers and using devices to access all sorts of Web-based content that was all but unusable on wireless phones just a couple of years ago. And while it may not be a gold-plated revenue stream quite yet, that titillated traffic will ramp up drastically in the next couple of years.
Interestingly, the ramp-up in online wireless porn will be supported in large part by another predictable trend in mobile data: the growth of Internet-based video. Carriers are struggling to monetize their branded video offerings, but a recent study from Nielsen indicates far more demand for online mobile video than for traditional, TV-style content. While the vast majority of content is still accessed through carrier decks, two-thirds of all mobile viewers say they access video content via the wireless Web, according to Nielsen.
U.S. carriers thus far have shackled the mobile porn market by keeping all but the most innocuous stuff off the deck — and, therefore, out of the hands of the overwhelming majority of consumers. That’s changing, though, as subscribers with multimedia-friendly devices become more accustomed to firing up the browser and strolling the mobile Web to consume all sorts of content, from news channels to streaming music services to, yes, hardcore sex videos.
Adult-oriented mobile traffic is sure to increase as Web-friendly phones expand beyond the high-end segment and become cheaper — or even free. The question isn’t whether consumers will use their phones to access the stuff; the question is how to monetize it. Which is why Larry Flint and Joe Francis don’t need a $5 billion bailout from the government. They just need better, more lucrative mobile distribution channels.
Because if consumers will buy porn at the airport, they’ll buy it anywhere.
January 15, 2009 06:03 am
I have been involved in the launch and management of a number of mainstream and adult content and service offerings in the US market since 2001, and I find it a bit disingenuous that the same people who have no problem selling meaningless text message services at $1.99 a pop, $2.99 for 30 second song snippets and $1.99 for pics of sunsets to minors have a moral dilemma with mobile adult content.Personally, I do not see the issue of providing consenting adults a high quality service so long as its legal and in the mainstream of adult content. Moral issues aside, the fact of the matter is that mobile porn is a reality, and it is being monetized - even in the USA - through a variety of methods that provide a high-level of age verification and customer service without the carrier transactional layer. And not just to smartphone users. I invite you to contact me at contact@myviproom.com to learn more if you are interested in learning more.
January 15, 2009 06:07 am
Who wants their kids buying porn on their iPhones? "the iphone allows people to be discreet."When can we expect to see Hustler ads on RCR's website?
January 14, 2009 04:39 pm
Please. This is the year 2009. Why are Americans (and Canadians) still so effing uptight about Porn? Mobile porn in Europe is abound and their society hasn't degraded into a pile of waste. If the carriers decide to remain anal (pun intended) about porn distribution, users will find it somewhere else. And why not make money off of it? Aren't we all trying to do that? Thank you RCR for being PROGRESSIVE enough to do porn articles. It's about time we get into the present about these issues.
January 14, 2009 06:04 am
Wonder why the wireless carriers are not supporting porn? It's big business. It grew the Internet,VCRs, and culture. Tough subject for a debate. Digging out this hole only makes it deeper.
January 14, 2009 06:14 am
Hey guys chill. The canary in the mine is adult content. If they can make a go of it on mobile, it'll tell us if video works on mobile for everyone else.
January 14, 2009 06:14 am
How about parental content control as a viable service for operators? The issue I see with many of the multimedia phones including iPhone is that web content remains wide open for the user - including younger kids and teens. While some basic functions exist to limit or completely disable apps, it's only the operator who can dynamically filter content on a per user (child, teen, adult) basis.
January 14, 2009 06:14 am
RTFA. Neither the author nor the article are telling anyone what they should or shouldn't sell or buy. They're just making a point about the market. And if you think it's nonsense, that's your prerogative, but I suggest you do a little bit of research about the early growth of the internet.
January 14, 2009 06:14 am
human decency? what an interesting coupling of words. a healthy enjoyment of one of humanity's most natural desires seems pretty decent to me.is there some pretty weird stuff out there in the porn world? absolutely! however, there is a lot of content that promotes healthy human interactions, something i'd much rather people be watching on their iphones or psp's than playing a video game that promotes violence, etc.as for the whole airplane logic, i think it makes perfect sense. i would be the first to jump out of my seat and start yelling at someone that opened up a penthouse on the plane while next to others, especially children. the iphone allows people to be discreet. it really is a case by case basis though. will some people abuse the freedom it gives them? yes. however, this country is full of people abusing the multitude of freedoms we have, yet we're still doing alright for ourselves because the majority of americans maintain "human decency" and no that there is always a time and place for everything.download porn on your phone, just be smart about it. i'd rather the right to bare porn than the right to bare arms, but we make do with what our constitution allows.
January 14, 2009 06:14 am
Anything to make a buck in this country. Because airports sell porn makes it fair game to sell on it mobile phones? Superb logic. Can't believe a respectable trade magazine as yours supports, accepts, or approves of this nonsense. "They just need better, more lucrative mobile distribution channels." RCR is warped. The dollar rules over human decency.