Mobile Entertainment

Perhaps it always has been. Hence, mobile TV is me-TV, mobile advertising has become personalised advertising. The conclusion, then, is that the eternal quest for the killer application is over.

After all, one man’s killer app is another man’s poison. But the mobile industry needs a killer something, and that something has emerged as a killer service, and one in particular is taking hold: the mobile internet.

Is it a service or an enabler? To be honest, it doesn’t matter. Just be glad it’s finally starting to live up to its much-hyped billing. The reasons for this recent and very welcome blossoming have been well documented: flat-rate data pricing, better user interface, faster networks, not to mention the impending widgetisation.

In Europe, the UK has been the flag bearer for mobile internet consumption. By the end of 2008, Direct2 Mobile forecasts 10.7 million UK mobile users browsing the mobile internet, rising to 23 million by 2013. In 2008, 3G users will account for almost 60 per cent of mobile browsing, and by 2013, that figure will rise to 96 per cent of mobile internet browsers.

So where will these UK users be browsing? Presently, about 70 per cent of traffic is on-portal. But this will change. In 2009, off-portal browsing will be in the majority, and will hit 90 per cent of traffic by 2013.

Putting that into perspective, presently in the UK there are over three billion page impressions generated every month. By 2013 that figure would have hit 18 billion. That would give on-portal 1.8 billion page impressions per month – which is comparable to today’s traffic.

So the change might not be so damaging to the operators after all.

But what’s the size of the off-portal market? It’s long been assumed that it generates around 75 per cent of content revenues in the UK, a figure largely unchallenged since Vodafone announced a similar stat in early 2006.

However, in 2007 UK operators generated combined content revenues of approximately £350 million ‘on-portal’. Based on Direct2 Mobile’s UK forecasts, this equated to 64 per cent of total mobile entertainment revenues in 2007 of £546 million. Therefore off-portal accounts for 36 per cent of revenues.

As mobile internet usage increases, the user’s propensity to spend will have a direct correlation. And as the killer service drives the UK market, we’re seeing similar trends occur across Europe too.

Nick Lane is Chief Researcher at Direct2 Mobile, which offers mobile content consultancy, and our own ME Research service. You can contact Nick at meresearch@intentmedia.co.uk.