M:Metrics: Britain's Reality TV Craze Fuels Text Message Voting

M:Metrics' latest research finds that "the reality TV craze sweeping the UK has reached the mobile industry." according to the firm's January Benchmark Survey, "21.8 percent of British mobile subscribers (8.9 million) voted in a TV or radio poll in a month during the quarter ended January 2006, compared with 12.1 percent of German (5 million) and 7 percent of U.S. (12.3 million), mobile subscribers."

Also, "approximately 83.6 percent and 79.2 percent of British and German mobile phone users respectively sent a text message in a month. Whereas Germans have embraced SMS as a means to receive news and information with as much vigor as their British counterparts, at about 7 percent each; the British are far more likely to use the technology to opine about a television or radio show."

Paul Goode at M:Metrics said, "The prevalence of reality television shows such as I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, Big Brother and Pop Idol in the UK is clearly changing mobile phone behaviour. TV programmers around the globe have been seeking new ways to engage with their audiences using various interactive platforms, and clearly, the British have chosen to use their mobile phones, turning reality TV into a truly cross-medium interactive event."

U.K. Mobile Subscriber Monthly Consumption of Content and Applications M:Metrics Benchmark Survey: January 2006
Activity	Projected Monthly Reach (000s)	Percent U.K. Mobile Subscribers
Sent Text Message	34,266	83.6
Used Photo Messaging	10,613	25.9
Retrieved News and Information	4,756	11.6
Purchased Ringtone	2,780	6.8
Used Personal E-mail	2,561	6.2
Downloaded Mobile Game	1,679	4.1
Purchased Wallpaper or Screensaver	1,060	2.6
Used Mobile Instant Messenger	1,319	3.2
Used Work E-mail	1,175	2.9

Source: M:Metrics, Inc., Copyright © 2006. Survey of U.K. mobile subscribers. Data based on three-month moving average for period ending 31 January 2006, n= 18,641

German Mobile Subscriber Monthly Consumption of Content and Applications M:Metrics Benchmark Survey: January 2006
Activity	Projected Monthly Reach (000s)	Percent German Mobile Subscribers
Sent Text Message	33,284	79.2
Used Photo Messaging	7,922	18.9
Purchased Ringtone	3,073	7.3
Used Personal E-mail	2,585	6.2
Retrieved News and Information	1,682	4.0
Purchased Wallpaper or Screensaver	1,364	3.2
Used Work E-mail	1,151	2.7
Used Mobile Instant Messenger	1,153	2.7
Downloaded Mobile Game	1,014	2.4

Source: M:Metrics, Inc., Copyright © 2006. Survey of German mobile subscribers. Data based on three-month moving average for period ending 31 January 2006, n= 18,594