Infonetics Research forecasts that 397 million cellular video phones, creating a market worth tens of billions of dollars, will be sold in 2013 (see below). At the end of 2008 there were 41 million video phone subscribers, and that number will increase almost ten times by 2013, the company says.
Based on its research report, “Mobile Video Equipment, Phones, Services and Subscribers,” China’s CMMB (Chinese Multimedia Broadcast) will become the dominant mobile television technology “in the long run.” Currently, one million subscribers in China already utilize CMMB, the report says.
The Asia/Pacific region has the greatest volume of mobile video sales, Infonetics says. That’s certainly no surprise.
Also, sports, such as soccer, cricket and automobile racing, is a primary driver of mobile video use. That also isn’t a surprise.
Disappointing number of paid subscribers
Despite increases in the number of video-enabled phones, the number of subscribers to paid mobile TV/video services is disappointing, says Jeff Heynen, directing analyst for broadband and video, at Infonetics Research.
“A combination of poor macroeconomic conditions, subpar 3G network coverage for streamed video services and pricing that puts mobile video services out of reach for many consumers is contributing to the lackluster growth of mobile video services around the world,” he says in the press release.
“While mobile video services are expected to eventually grow significantly, until operators can combine broadcast, on-demand and sideloading, revenue will remain a drop in the bucket of overall mobile service revenue, Heynen says.
The press release did not discuss revenues generated for advertiser-supported mobile TV services.
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