Informa: Mobile TV to Hit $10 Billion by 2013

Mobile TV may be off to a slow start here in the U.S., but according to a new study from Informa Telecoms & Media, it’s expected to generate revenues of $1.5 billion this year and increase to more than $10 billion in 2013, RCR Wireless News reports.

Today, mobile TV is primarily a subscription business, but the report said that Informa expects that trend to switch to an advertising business over time, which is what we’ve been saying for a while now. By 2013, Informa projects that almost half of revenue will come from advertising.

South Korea and Japan will lead the charge, with Europe about a year behind and the United States further behind than that. “As the owner of the marketing and billing relationship with subscribers, operators are in the best position to offer mobile TV services,” said Shailendra Pandey, senior analyst at Informa Telecoms & Media, in the report. Pandey added that carriers should focus on launching a free-to-air business model that they can expand further as user takeup increases.

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