Mobile TV: 472m subscribers by 2013

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by David Masters

The number of people watching TV on their mobile handset will reach almost half a billion in the next five years, according to analysts at Cantab Wireless.

By 2013, 472 million consumers will have TV subscriptions on their mobile phone, Cantab said.

Cantab’s new report forecasts the strongest mobile TV subscriber growth in Asia, especially in Korea and Japan.

Europe and the US will play catch-up from 2010, although the shortage of radio spectrums available in Europe before analogue TV networks shutdown may delay the launch of mobile TV networks.

From 2012, mobile TV will also be offered over LTE networks, Cantab said, providing greatly increased capacity and posing a serious threat to broadcast TV networks.

Mobile TV is a contested business space, with traditional TV broadcasters and mobile network operators both vying for sector control.

TV broadcasters have the advantage of established relationships with content producers, whilst cellular operators benefit from knowing the business model of mobile devices.

Cantab predicts a new business model will emerge that benefits both broadcasters and network operators.

Cantab believes the success of this business model is more important than technological development for the future of mobile TV.

Juha Korhonen, an analyst at Cantab Wireless, said: “Even more important than choosing the right technical standard is choosing the right business model.”