Premium mobile content market to hit $43 billion by 2010
iSuppli report sees 42.5 per cent annual growth from 2004 onwards
The latest report into the potential of the mobile content market from research firm iSuppli has suggested that the market for music, games and video on handsets could reach a staggering $43 billion by the end of the current decade.
Authored by the firm's vice president of multimedia services and content, Mark Kirstein, the new report predicts growth of 42.5 per cent annually from 2004 - where the market was worth $5.2 billion - through to 2010.
While music is expected to continue to dominate the mobile content sector, Kirstein is upbeat on the prospects for mobile games - pointing out that this sector grew by around 80 per cent in 2005.
The report indicates that mobile gaming is growing beyond the early adopter phase, with game quality generally improving and titles being bought by users well outside the original targeted demographic for mobile games.
Kirstein also believes that mobile video and TV represent a major opportunity, but despite the rampant enthusiasm from operators and providers alike for this technology, he points out that it is still in very early stages even in the Far East.
"After years of hyper growth, mobile-phone markets in several major regions around the world are maturing, resulting in slower subscriber growth and declining Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) for wireless communications carriers," Kirstein explained.
"Meanwhile, new 3G networks offer increased bandwidth, but require compelling applications and content to drive revenue and provide a return on investment to operators. Against this backdrop, mobile-service carriers and content providers are establishing new business models to capture the growing opportunity," he concluded.
The full report, titled "Mobile Premium Content: Music, Ringtones, Games and Video", is available from iSuppli's Mobile Media Content service.