Just 2 percent of cell phone users subscribe to a mobile TV service, but that number is expected to spike in the next four years, according to a mobile video survey by JupiterResearch. More than four
in 10 mobile subscribers say they are interested in mobile TV, but research firm says carriers must now find the right combination of price and content. Last year, consumers spent $62 million on
mobile video subscriptions, which Jupiter predicts will grow to $501 million by 2010. While just 2 percent subscribe, the survey finds that more than 17 percent are interested in watching TV on their
phones, and 11 percent say they're open to receiving short clips. However, no mention is made about whether consumers expressed a willingness to pay for such content. If there is a future for mobile
television, and there certainly could be, it will be advertising. Consumers are not used to having to pay more than their monthly cable bill to watch TV, and they certainly won't be pleased to pay for
"premium content" when all it amounts to is a collection of three to five minute clips of mediocre content. Of course, for content providers, there is the chicken and egg problem of no users, no
advertising, so until mobile TV functionality percolates into the mobileshpere, content owners are going to have to charge for content and see how far they can get.
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