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Report: U.S. Mobile Video Services to Generate $5.4 Billion by 2009

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 27, 2004 - 7:15am.
Scottsdale, Ariz. -- Mobile video services in the U.S. are expected to generate $5.4 billion in annual revenues by 2009, fueled by greater bandwidth on 3G networks, and advances in compression technologies and multimedia cell phones, says Arizona-based market research firm In-Stat/MDR. A recent survey found that 13.2% of U.S. wireless users are extremely or very interested in purchasing mobile video services, whose availability is currently limited but will expand with market launches in late 2004 and throughout 2005. "Interest in mobile video is higher than for all other prospective mobile multimedia services covered in this survey, including gaming and music services," said In-Stat/MDR's Clint Wheelock. In-Stat/MDR estimates that in 2009, 22.3 million Americans will be able to view video on their cell phones, and 31.1 million will use video messaging, adding to the projected 14.9% of total wireless data revenues that will be generated by mobile video services.
tags: Reports | U.S | Mobile Video | Generates |

Pirated Games, Modified Game Consoles Reaping Profits in China

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 27, 2004 - 7:14am.
Beijing -- While Sony's PlayStation 2 sells for $240 in China -- about a quarter of the average annual income of an urban worker -- and games go for between $24 and $50, illegally modified consoles that sell for $180 and can play pirated games are outselling official models by two or three times, Reuters reported. "The scenario which occurs in the United States where the PS2 is cheaper than the PC just doesn't work over here," said Chen Danian, COO of Chinese online games firm Shanda Interactive Games. Although Sony has only released six official PlayStation 2 games in China since launching the console there in January, gamers can find most titles on the black market for about $0.85 each. Sony rival Microsoft has yet to launch its Xbox game console in China.
tags: China | Profits | Pirated Games | Modified Games |

Report: One in Three U.S. Homes Will Have Video-on-Demand By 2008

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 27, 2004 - 7:13am.
Boston, Mass. -- One in three U.S. homes will have video-on-demand (VOD) services available to them by the end of 2008, when VOD is available in 36.5 million digital cable homes, predicts Boston-based research firm Yankee Group. Deployments in 2003 rose 70% from 2002, and 11.4 million homes are now capable of using video-on-demand. The firm's estimate is a bit lower than an earlier projection, due to increased desire among cable operators to focus on other services like HDTV and digital video recording, which are being aggressively deployed by their satellite TV rivals. Yankee Group advises cable operators to market VOD more aggressively to their subscribers, as well as expand their available content libraries. Cable firms are also encouraged to continue to deploy digital video recording set-tops, despite their somewhat negative impact on the use of VOD, as that impact will be limited by video-on-demand's broader content offering and ability to support impulse viewing.
tags: Reports | Video-on-Demand | U.S |

Bundled Broadband Services Provider RCN Files for Bankruptcy

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 27, 2004 - 7:12am.
Princeton, N.J. -- RCN Corporation, a provider of bundled phone, cable TV and high-speed Internet services in major U.S. markets, announced on Thursday that it has filed for Ch. 11 bankruptcy protection, adding that it has reached agreements with key lenders to reduce its debt from $1.66 billion to $480 million. The New Jersey-based company said that Deutsche Bank Securities will provide $460 in new financing when it emerges from bankruptcy, expected in the fourth quarter of 2004. "We continue to believe that our strategy of selling bundled services over a broadband network will define the future of the industry," said RCN chairman and CEO David C. McCourt. "RCN can reduce its debt and emerge as a stronger, more efficient company, giving us a competitive advantage in the long run."
tags: Bankruptcy | Broadband Services | RCN |

Survey: Brits Spend More on Cell Phone Bills than Gas, Electric

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 27, 2004 - 7:11am.
London -- According to a new survey by market research firm JD Power and Associates, Brits are spending as much as $83 per month for voice, text and other mobile phone services -- more than they currently spend on gas or electricity. JP Power said the figures show a remarkable 14% year-on-year increase. The British -- world-renown mobile phone aficionados -- spend even more on camera phones, more than $99 a month, while prepaid customers are spending a good deal less per month than their monthly contract counterparts -- just over $44. JD Power also found that the popularity of downloading ringtones continues to increase, with 17% of those surveyed saying that they used the service. While 11% of the respondents received news, weather reports and sports updates on their mobile phones, only 7% have downloaded video games to their handsets.
tags: Bills | Cell Phone | Survey | Brits | Gas | Electric |

"American Idol" Series Breaks Text-Messaging Event Record

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 27, 2004 - 7:08am.
Redmond, Wash. -- Wireless carrier AT&T Wireless announced on Thursday that its text-message voting feature for Fox's "American Idol" TV series once again figured as the largest text-messaging event by a single carrier, with 13.5 million messages sent during the course of the season. The figure -- an 80% jump over last year's 7.5 million text messages -- includes fan mail, games, sweepstakes entries and song dedications, in addition to actual votes. The show's viewer voting structure has generated some controversy this season, due to reports that many millions of phone votes haven't been counted due to busy lines, possibly created by phone hackers. "Our sponsorship of 'American Idol' is the seminal event that got mainstream America text messaging," said Andre Dahan, president of AT&T Wireless mobile multimedia services.
tags: American Idol | Records | Text-Messages |

Report: Record Labels Cashing In On Master Recording Ringtones

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 27, 2004 - 7:01am.
London -- Record labels are beginning to see major profits from cell phone ringtones, a market that previously benefited only publishers but is now being cashed in on by labels through the introduction of "sample" ringtones, which use actual snippets of the copyrighted master recording, according to a report from London-based Informa. Record labels are charging far more for sample ringtones -- as much as four times -- than the average cost of a normal ringtone, or between 25% and 55% of the total retail price. Some master recording ringtones in Britain cost a whopping $7.35. "Demanding such high percentage rates by the record companies could certainly lead to the market being depressed," said Informa's Simon Dyson. Informa projects that music industry revenues from ringtones will reach $5 billion in 2007, up from $3 billion last year.
tags: Reports | Ringtones | Record Labels |