Premium mobile content market takes off

Mobile phone subscribers are purchasing more ring-tones, music, games and video

The market for premium mobile content platforms grew almost 20 per cent in 2007, generating $3.4bn in revenues, according to new research.

Analyst firm MultiMedia Intelligence said that, as mobile phone subscribers look for personalisation and enhanced entertainment content, they are purchasing more premium content, such as ring-tones, music, mobile games and video.

Mobile content platform companies such as Alcatel-Lucent, Amdocs, Ericsson, Motricity NMS Communications and Qualcomm provide key systems and tools to " in-take, catalogue, store and deliver content".

"Many industries would be thrilled with 20 per cent growth but, while the mobile content platform and digital commerce services companies find it disappointing, much of the issue is out of their hands," said Frank Dickson, chief research officer at MultiMedia Intelligence.

"The ring-tone market is softening while other content categories are failing to live up to expectations.

"Additionally, the mobile content platform and digital commerce services companies sit in the mobile content ecosystem stuck between the more powerful operators and content owners.

"The operators have tremendous power as they own the subscriber. The content companies have power as they own the content that individuals want. The revenue distribution among the different industry segments reflects this power imbalance."

The research report found that mobile music is still dominated by ring-tones. However, the growth of the category is muted as the decline of polyphonic ring-tones eats away at the gains made by music ring-tunes .

Ring-tones will remain the dominant music category throughout the forecast period, despite strong growth in full track downloads, streaming music and ring-back tones.

MultiMedia Intelligence predicts that the market will begin to see the emergence of advertising in premium content, with video emerging as the domi nant driver.

• MultiMedia Intelligence report: Mobile Content Platforms: Mobile 2.0 and Advertising Join the Party