• January 24, 2008

The latest report from Juniper Research is pegging the global mobile entertainment market to top $64 billion in the next four years, driven primarily by music, but with strong growth from games and TV.

UK-based Juniper Research also includes user-generated content, gambling, adult and infotainment content in the mobile entertainment mix, but the most growth is slated to come from music, with revenues rising to $17.5 billion in 2012. The 94% growth from 2007 will be fueled by the increased availability of full-track download and streaming music services.

Mobile games usage will actually surpass music in terms of revenue growth, surging by 220% to reach nearly $16 billion in the next four years. The spike will mostly stem from rapid growth in the development of casual games. Meanwhile, growth in global revenues from mobile TV will be driven by the launch of multiple mobile broadcast networks in both developed and emerging markets, to the tune of almost $12 billion.

"With revenues from voice services declining and messaging revenues flatlining, last year finally saw a number of more sophisticated entertainment services begin to fulfill their potential and redress the balance," said report author and Juniper analyst Dr. Windsor Holden. "With more widespread penetration of 3G handsets--or entertainment-focused 2.5G handsets like the iPhone--there is likely to be a much greater surge in both the adoption and overall usage in rich media services."

--Tameka Kee