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Major sports events drive demand for mobile television
Weijie Yun at Telegent Systems explores how operators can capitalise on the interest in mobile television created around major sporting events such as the Olympics.
This summer the eyes of the technology community were on more than just sports at the Olympics, with the question being whether the Beijing Games would deliver on the promise of being the first major sporting event having substantial appeal to existing and prospective mobile television users.
Data collected from a survey of Chinese analogue mobile TV users during and after the Games suggests a strong interest. Sports displaced news as the most popular content, with half of the respondents tuned in on any given day during the Olympics competitions.
With the 2010 FIFA World Cup now the next major global sporting event on the horizon, the question is what kind of impact did the Olympics really have on mobile TV viewing behaviour and what can we expect in 2010?
Telegent Systems conducted a survey on the viewing habits of Chinese consumers with TV handsets to assess this. Mobile TV consumption increased, from 43% of respondents watching for 30 minutes or more on a daily basis prior to the Games to 58% during the competition. Programming interest also shifted, with 66% of respondents reporting the Olympics as their proramming of choice, compared to 17% reporting interest in mobile access to sports prior to the Games. Frequency increased, from 32% watching five days a week or more prior to the Games to 50% of the respondents tuned in on a daily basis. This suggests that consumers who are already familiar with mobile TV are interested in and prepared to tune in during international events such as the Olympics.
The next question is to what degree did the Olympics create interest in mobile access to TV programming? A survey by Telegent conducted with more than 1,200 consumers in nine countries suggests that global events such as the Olympics present a compelling opportunity for attracting mobile TV viewers particularly in emerging markets. In these countries, 89% of viewers with prior mobile TV viewing experience were interested in tuning in. However, 58% of consumers without prior experience with mobile TV were also interested in having mobile access to Olympics programming, with the strongest interest coming from Asian and Latin American markets.
So if the interest and demand is there, it is simply a question of choosing the right business model. The survey also revealed that 71% of respondents preferred access to over-the-air content for free, compared to 40% who were open to fee-based subscription content. The receptiveness to subscription models was lower for consumers without mobile TV experience, at 29% of respondents. This suggests that operators looking to harness events such as the Olympics to drive subscriber uptake might consider business models derived from traditional broadcast TV, in which standard programming is offered as a free feature with the opportunity for monetization from value-add services and premium content.
Looking ahead to FIFA 2010, there are a few conclusions we can draw from the Olympics. First, there will be a mobile TV audience tuning in. Second, the sporting event can be successfully harnessed to attract new viewers. Finally, in between now and then, the business model that will be most successful in driving viewership is one that mirrors that of traditional broadcast TV and provides consumers with free access to over-the-air broadcast programming.
Weijie Yun is the co-founder and chief executive of Telegent Systems which produces single chip systems to enable mobile television in cellular phones and other portable devices.
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