Mobile TV uptake falling short

Spending on mobile broadcast TV services is expected to reach only $2.7 billion by 2013, less than previous forecasts indicated, according to Juniper Research.
The success of pay TV services will be hampered by free-to-air services and the increasing availability of mobile handsets that can receive free signals, said the firm.
The report predicts there will be more than 330 million mobile users worldwide that own broadcast-TV-enabled handsets by 2013. But less than 14% will opt for mobile pay TV services, predicts Juniper.
“The development of terrestrial TV-capable receivers with comparatively low power consumption, and the availability of these receivers in mass market handsets, throws into question the business case for the deployment of a dedicated network in many markets,” said Dr. Windsor Holden, author of the report.
This trend, however, could create an opportunity for streamed TV services.
“There will always be a market for some form of premium TV service on the mobile handset, and with broadcast TV in many markets likely to consist simply of the free-to-air terrestrial signals, the gap in the market is likely to be filled by streamed video-on-demand services over the 3G network,” said Holden.