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APAC Premium Content Market Outlook
Frost & Sullivan, March 2011, Pages: 83
Premium mobile content is a critical component of mobile operators’ non-voice revenues. Premium content services serve the entertainment, communication and informational needs of the mobile subscribers and are used by virtually all the end-user segments. Adoption of premium content services in Asia Pacific has varied depending on usage patterns, market maturity, and affordability. Penetration of mobile Internet has just begun in many of the Asia Pacific countries, whereas those, which are ahead, are fairly well developed and a very strong shift to off-deck content is likely to be witnessed over the forecast period.
Proliferation of 3G and Affordable Multimedia Handsets Fuels Growth in the APAC Premium Content Market
Increasing Mobile Internet Use Propels the Market Forward
The total Asia Pacific premium content market experienced a growth of 17.8 per cent in revenue in 2010, with figures touching $16.16 billion. Spurred by the growing 3G service coverage and the availability of reasonably priced multimedia handsets, the market is expected to chart a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.2 per cent, bringing the total revenues to $30.1 billion in 2015. Adoption of premium content services in Asia Pacific has varied depending on usage patterns, market maturity and affordability. Penetration of mobile Internet has just begun in many of the Asia Pacific countries, but in those that have pioneered deployment, it is fairly well developed and a very strong shift to off-deck content is likely to be witnessed in the foreseeable future. “Ringtones along with ringback tones (RBTs) still contribute the majority of mobile music revenue,” notes the analyst of this research service. “However, the percent contribution of ringtones is declining as users, especially the youth, are increasingly downloading full track melodies or songs (in mp3 formats) to set them as ringtones.”
Although the prospects for the market look bright, there are some challenges restraining forward momentum. Most of the emerging markets including China and India have a disproportionately large prepaid segment that is price sensitive. Moreover, some of the populated markets such as India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan have one of the lowest call rates in the world, mainly due to stiff competition and price wars among the operators, resulting in lower average revenue per user (ARPUs). High prepaid subscriber concentration and low-yielding ARPU also indicate the users’ low propensity to spend on premium content applications.
Traditionally, wireless operators created and distributed their own mobile applications, but the emergence of third-party stores such as Apple’s iTunes App Store has significantly changed market dynamics. Mobile operators are cashing in on the app store mania by adding access to multiple wireless stores and becoming the entry point into the world of content and applications. Savvy subscribers are now beginning to manoeuvre their way away from the mobile operators’ on-deck sites to other off-deck sites. In addition to Apple's iTunes App Store, there are numerous other third-party application stores, including those of Google (Android Market), Research In Motion (store for BlackBerry), Microsoft (Marketplace for Windows Mobile), and Nokia (Ovi store), and it is a fact that few operators in the region have the required established mobile developer community to compete head-on with these third-party stores. “Operators do have certain advantages that they can leverage on to create opportunities in application sales such as strong brand and marketing expertise in the local market as well as strong relationship with subscribers,” concludes the analyst. “By becoming the entry point into the world of content and applications through providing easy access to attractive app stores, operators can create customer stickiness.”
Market Sectors
Expert Frost & Sullivan analysts thoroughly examine the following market sectors in this research:
- Mobile
- Wireless
- Technologies
The following technologies are covered in this research:
- 3G
- GPRS/EDGE
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