IDC: Substantial Market Expansion for U.S. Wireless Cellular TV and Video Content and Services

IDC has issued a new report that predicts "about 24 million U.S. cellular subscribers and customers will be paying for some form of TV/video content and services on their mobile devices by 2010, up from about 7 million this year. This growth presents new revenue opportunities for carriers, handset developers, and content providers."

Lewis Ward at IDC said, "Although our research found penetration of these services isn't likely to exceed 10% of all subscribers by 2010, video/TV services are poised to become a significant contributor to carrier data ARPU while emerging as a hotbed for community-oriented interaction and interesting advertising experiments. Broadband adoption of video/TV services is emerging as the cornerstone of growth in this market."

IDC found that "overall, blended cellular TV video/TV content and service ARPU is expected to settle in at about $6.50. This metric is comprised of three elements: a la carte content purchases, narrowband (i.e. "2.5G") subscriptions, and broadband (i.e. "3G") subscriptions. Within this mix, broadband video/TV services should grow from less than half of all revenues last year to about 85% of the total in 2010, with a substantially above average ARPU. Survey data suggest that a mix of on-demand clips and live streaming content is the most appealing to consumers."