NOKIA PRESS RELEASE August 30, 2005
Consumers also want to watch TV programs on their mobile
Espoo, Finland - Results announced today from one of the world's first
commercial mobile TV pilots in Helsinki, Finland reveal the popularity
and willingness to pay for mobile TV services, underlining the
potential of this exciting new mobile application. 41% of pilot
participants would be willing to purchase mobile TV services and half
thought that a fixed monthly fee of 10 euros was a reasonable price to
pay. Over half (58%) said that they believed broadcast mobile TV
services would be popular.
Digita, Elisa, MTV, Channel Four Finland (Nelonen), Nokia, TeliaSonera
Finland and YLE jointly conducted the pilot in Finland between March
and June 2005 with 500 users accessing mobile TV using the Nokia 7710
smartphone and DVB-H technology.
Content is king
According to the pilot results, pilot participants not only wanted to
watch familiar program offerings, but they would also welcome mobile
TV content that is suitable for short and occasional viewing.
Familiar programs available through national Finnish television
channels proved to be the most popular followed by sports and news
channels (CNN, BBC World, Euronews). The Ice Hockey World cup games,
the San Marino and Monaco Formula One as well as the UEFA Champions
League match between Liverpool and AC Milan were among the top 10
programs viewed during the pilot.
Viewing patterns
In general, mobile TV users spent approximately 20 minutes a day
watching mobile TV, although more active users watched between 30 to
40 minutes per session. Participants also watched mobile TV at
different times than traditional TV peak hours.
Mobile TV was most popular while traveling on public transport to
relax or to keep up to date with the latest news although it also
proved popular at home for entertainment and complementing
participants' main TV watching.
http://press.nokia.com/PR/200508/1008920_5.html
Monty Solomon (monty@roscom.com)