Mobile TV appeals to 50pc of Europeans

06-06-2006

by Rudhraigh McGrath

A study from Portio Research claims that up to 50 percent of all European mobile users are interested in being able to view TV on their mobile phone.

The same 50 percent said they would be willing to pay, on average, EUR10 a month for unlimited or "all you can eat" TV, which would allow mobile users to access special purpose-made programming whenever and wherever they want.

Mobile TV would enable customers to watch news, hear the latest sports results and watch music television, but with regards to specific programming, in theory the format would only be limited by the demands of the market in much the same manner as regular television.

The report further claims that whilst only 6 percent of Europeans have ever utilised video calling on their mobiles, roughly 60 percent said they would be interested in using and paying for it if the service was cheaper and easier to use. Video calling was of particular interest to teenagers, 85 percent of whom claimed that they would use such a service. The report also claimed that per video call, pre-paid subscribers were willing to pay more than their post-paid counterparts.

Despite the large number of mobile users who are interested in mobile TV, the prospect of the intrusion of any form of advertising into the mobile world was a large turn-off for the vast majority of those polled. Almost 65 percent claimed that they would cultivate a "zero-tolerance" attitude to having their mobiles subjected to any unsolicited advertising, especially advertising that interrupted the paid-for time of their mobile TV service.

In recent times there has been a number of mobile TV-related developments in Europe. Reports last week indicate that Italy will be the first country in Europe to roll out mobile TV, with Silvio Berlusconi's Italian broadcasting empire Mediaset finalising a deal in time for the upcoming World Cup.

Although video calling and similar content rich services have been available in Ireland for some time, the new DVB-H (Direct Video Broadcasting-Handheld) technology which makes mobile TV possible is not widely available here currently. However, O2 confirmed last week that it has plans to institute DVB-H trials in the coming autumn.