Smartphone users want Mobile TV

BANGALORE,INDIA: A new study of mobile computing and phone users has found that the consumers are poised to watch video on small screens, with a preponderance of consumers wanting news and local news in particular.The study findings come at a time when mobile TV offerings still struggling to find traction.

The Open Mobile Video Coalition accounced that the the survey of 1,007 respondents between the ages of 18 and 59 found most early adopters were male -- 65 per cent -- and young, between 18 and 29.

"Smartphone penetration will reach 50 per cent quickly," said Jaime Spencer, director of Magid Media Labs, which conducted the survey for OMVC. "Smartphone users are mobile super-consumers. The smartphone is like a catalyst: People who get them become more than device owners. They adopt a mobile lifestyle. Live mobile DTV fits very nicely into that mobile lifestyle."

The mobile video landscape is currently as chaotic as it is embryonic. Consumers can get video on their mobile devices from carriers, over the Web, or from independent providers. The survey found that the idea of watching video on a mobile device was "appealing" to 46 per cent of the respondents. Among those interested in watching mobile video, 88 per cent said they were most interested in viewing local news and information content.

Other high categories of interest were for entertainment programming (65pc) and sports (44pc). Respondents with children under 18 said they would permit the kids to watch mobile video in cars (31pc). But just 10 pc said they would give a mobile device to children at home.

"The mobile landscape is exploding, yet we don't see a clear leader in that space," said Spencer. "This is especially true for the local picture. We believe that broadcasters have the opportunity to own this platform locally, but they need to be aggressive and have content that will drive use."