Mobile video ‘gets interesting’: M:Metrics sees potential for advertising

LAS VEGAS — Mobile television and video is a “market that has been puttering along for several years,” Mark Donovan, senior analyst at M:Metrics Inc. said in a morning presentation here at NATPE Mobile++.
The conference has enticed content producers and others in the TV and film industries who want to learn more about the growing space and how they might find a seat at the table.
M:Metrics’ latest statistics show that mobile video is penetrating the market at a rate of 4%, indicating 9.2 million people watched some type of mobile video in the United States in November 2007. And that number represents a 60% increase over January 2007, he added.
“We’re starting to get an audience that gets interesting for programmers and gets interesting for producers,” Donovan said.
Video has long been “hampered with really poor quality,” but the adoption and buildout of 3G networks has improved quality tremendously, he said.
Approximately 4 million wireless subscribers are watching programmed video on their mobile device, 3 million consumers are watching on-demand video and at least 1.7 million subscribers are watching broadcast services, Donovan said.
Still, real growth is in the offing.
“Most people in the United States still haven’t seen or experienced someone watching video on their phone,” Donovan said. “To the extent that advertising can become a subsidizing mechanism here, we’ll see this market grow.”
Users surveyed by M:Metrics frequently cite cost as a major barrier to adoption. The firm expects mobile advertising to hit full stride around 2010. “It is still the Wild West out there in the world of mobile advertising,” Donovan added.
According to M:Metrics’ data, the top 10 mobile video and TV genres (ranked highest to lowest) are movie trailers, music videos, sports action or news, comedy, weather, entertainment or celebrity news, news, full-length television or film, TV highlights and animation or cartoons.