Mobile Content Market to Hit 7.6 Billion Euros

LogicaCMG Research

LONDON, July 6: Research from LogicaCMG, which is hosting a Content Management conference in London today, indicates that the market for mobile content in Europe, the Asia Pacific and North and South America will more than triple to 7.6 billion euros by July 2006.
One fifth of mobile phone owners worldwide have already experienced downloading content to their handsets, the report says. That percentage is expected to rise to 60 percent in the next 12 months. The average monthly download spend per subscriber is currently 6.32 euros, and more than 40 percent of respondents said they would expect that amount to increase next year.

Ring tones, games and music are the three most popular downloads, and that trend is expected to continue. Europe will experience an increased interest in news and sports content. In terms of video and movie clips, more than 10 percent of respondents said they would likely be downloading such content within the next 12 months. That figure rises to 25 percent in the Asia Pacific, where one in 10 respondents anticipate downloading full feature films to their mobiles by this time next year.

Challenges for operators include dealing with consumer demand for ease of payment and the ability to share content with others.
There are currently more than 1.5 billion mobile phone users worldwide, and that figure is expected to reach 2 billion by year-end.
“This survey proves that a substantial market for mobile content exists, with great opportunities for mobile operators worldwide,” commented Paul Gleeson, COO at LogicaCMG global telecoms. “Mobile phone users are starting to experiment with their phones' capabilities but, drawing a parallel with the popular SMS experience, it is clear that the service needs to be simple, safe and intuitive from initial browsing through to payment and download. To secure a share in this booming industry, mobile operators need to look at the bigger picture, building strong relationships with customers and content partners alike to deliver high-quality services that meet the markets' needs."

The survey was undertaken in May/June 2005. Surveys were carried out on a representative sample population of 1,000 adults in each territory, covering Europe (Germany, Italy and the U.K.), Asia Pacific (Malaysia), South America (Brazil) and North America (U.S.). The research was carried out by TNS (Europe and North America), Ibope (South America) and Synovate (Asia Pacific).


KEY FIGURES
Content that mobile phone users expect to be accessing in 12 months' time (PERCENT)
Asia Pacific Europe N. America S. America
Games 49 15 11 30
Ring tones 73 20 27 25
Music 55 15 13 28
News 31 15 15 23
Sports clips 29 12 10 13
Multimedia images 56 16 13 13
Video clips 25 7 7 10
Full feature films 11 8 3 8

Most important factors for mobile phone users when considering downloading mobile content (PERCENT)
Asia Pacific Europe N. America S. America
Ease of payment 54 39 31 64
Quick to download 58 30 30 15
Immediate/timely content delivery 46 30 23 22
Able to share content with friends 60 44 17 38
Ability to store content on network 25 12 14 24
Ability to store content on phone 38 26 11 44