Well folks, it’s the increasing adoption of streamed video and video chat services alongside the rise of 3G networks, we should thank to for pushing the mobile adult content market to nearly $3.5 billion by 2010 (this is NOT to say that IntoMobile has anything to do with the industry).
According to Juniper Research, while North American carriers are still “very reluctant to introduce age-verification systems and offer adult content,” it is a completely different story off-portal with a number of service providers now offering D2C content and services aimed at those markets. And the only thing that keeps adult content providers from earning their buck is the comfort zone of the consumers. The report author Dr Windsor Holden argues, “as mobile subscribers become more comfortable and familiar with the off-portal environment, then the traffic to these sites is likely to mushroom.”
In addition to covering North America, the report also deals with other parts of the world. Apparently, the upcoming legislation in some Asian countries like China and South Korea will would depress growth in Asia. On the other hand, adoption in Eastern European markets was rising at a higher rate than previously anticipated, in part thanks to the greater willingness of operators in the region to offer a wide variety of explicit, white-label content on-portal.
Other findings from the Juniper report include:
- Western Europe will remain the largest regional market for mobile adult services throughout the period covered by the report, with revenues rising from $775m in 2007 to $1.5bn by 2012.
- Global revenues from video chat services will rise from just $138m in 2007 to more than $1.5bn by 2012.
- While users of adult services are far less price sensitive than consumers of other mobile entertainment services, service providers should be careful not to overprice content.
White papers and further details of the study “Mobile Adult Services (4th edition)” can be freely downloaded from Juniper’s website.