Mobile video market to grow five-fold by 2014
Those of us who pay to watch online video on our mobile devices are about to be joined by a lot more people.
The number of users globally paying for mobile video and TV services is expected to jump to 534 million by 2014, a five-fold increase from 2008, says a report released Thursday by market researcher Pyramid Research. Much of the recent growth has been fueled by increased bandwidth, lower data costs, and more advanced handheld devices, and that trend will continue.
(Credit:
Pyramid Research)
In the report, mobile video includes paid video clips, music videos, TV episodes, TV programming, and online movies that are delivered directly to a mobile device.
In the U.S. alone, Pyramid estimates that revenue from mobile video services will reach $16 billion by 2014. However, much of the demand will come from Europe and Asia/Pacific.
"The availability of improved devices and networks are contributing to a higher level of adoption and spending on mobile video services," says Derek Medlin, senior analyst at Pyramid Research and author of the report. "Pyramid Research believes that a substantial proportion of mobile Net additions in the next five years will come from emerging markets, especially in Asia/Pacific, and will drive a 37 percent growth in total mobile subscriptions from 2009 to 2014."
In the Asia/Pacific region, countries such as Japan, Hong Kong, and South Korea already lead the way in the number of mobile video subscriptions. However, Pyramid also forecasts higher growth from India and the LATAM region over the next five years.
"Looking ahead, Asia/Pacific will remain in the top spot, attaining more than 281 million subscriptions by 2014," says Medlin in the report, "although we expect Latin America to grow at the fastest pace, increasing at a CAGR (compounded annual growth rate) of 39 percent from 2009 to 2014."
Lance Whitney wears a few different technology hats--journalist, Web developer, and software trainer. He's a contributing editor for Microsoft TechNet Magazine and writes for other computer publications and Web sites. You can follow Lance on Twitter at @lancewhit. Lance is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and he is not an employee of CNET. 
