Mobile video is expected to continue to be a driving force in the online video industry, with revenues expected to top $2 billion globally in 2013, a massive upsurge from the $121 million the mobile video services industry--which includes video telephony, video messaging, video sharing, video-on-demand, VoD downloads, and "other" video services, a new report says.
ABI Research says the most significant position of the growth will come in video telephony, video messaging and video-on-demand.
"Video services revenue will only amount to about $121 million this year," says senior analyst Mark Beccue. "But the growth curve is very steep indeed, and will only continue to accelerate through the end of our forecast period in 2015."
The popularity and adoption of OTT services, however, will provide competition for MNO-branded mobile video services, the lingering global recession and an insufficient range and variety of video-capable mobile devices also could slow growth. And because this industry is still in its infancy, the business models are still immature and imperfectly matched to consumers' preferences.
"MNOs mustn't settle for the role of undifferentiated mobile ISPs that manage dumb pipes," Beccue said. "They should provide a variety of mobile video services and leverage strategic ecosystems until they upgrade their networks to provide quality video services. Partnering with device OEMs and software solution providers will help to optimize mobile devices. This will contribute to an already significant investment, but the rewards will be great."
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