Doubt surrounds mobile television market
From television production companies to broadcast equipment manufacturers, a lot of companies are betting big dollars that mobile phone users will eventually pay to watch television on their handsets.
However, a new Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg Poll that examined media use and attitudes by young people finds little interest and a lack of excitement about mobile television and most other electronic media, for that matter.
The poll found that teens and young adults have yet to embrace mobile television. About half said they were uninterested in watching television programs or feature films on phones, video iPods or computers.
The researchers reported that only 14 percent of teenagers said they wanted to watch television on a mobile phone, while 17 percent said they would view programs on an iPod.
“It just seems like a needless expense to me,” Mark Lopez, 23, a political science major at Cal State Fullerton, told the Los Angeles Times. “And I would think it would be grainy and not as clear of a picture. My choice would be to watch something first on TV, or TiVo it.”
The poll found that a lack of interest by teens and young adults doesn’t stop with mobile television. It extends to other media, including movies at the local multiplex.
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