• Los Angeles Times, Tuesday, April 15, 2008 11:45 AM

With 89% of U.S. adults signed up for cell phone service, The Los Angeles Times says mobile carriers are pushing their video subscription services hard. According to Nielsen Mobile, these services raked in $308 million in Q4, compared to $112 million a year earlier.

Major changes in the industry have opened the door to wider video adoption, including the introduction of the Apple iPhone--which spurred extensive usage of the mobile Web and pledges by the mobile carriers to grant more open access to their networks and software, along with new unlimited data plans that allow users to watch as much mobile video as they please.

One of the big debates circulating the mobile sphere is whether video service should be subscription-based or ad-supported. A typical subscription plan is $15 per month, but analysts say this turns off too many users. Ad supported video requires a big investment and a lot of patience. However, all this may soon be moot, because once we achieve a mobile Web with broadband speeds, consumers will surely just watch video from their favorite sites, for free.

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