Report: 36M users will watch video on mobile phones in 2009

Report: 36M users will watch video on mobile phones in 2009    

An eMarketer report predicts that by 2009, 35.9 million U.S. users will be watching video on their mobile phones. Despite the surge in popularity, the number of users willing to subscribe to paid premium services will remain small at less than 10 million, eMarketer forecasts. In 2006, only 3 million users will watch any sort of video on their mobile phones and only 300,000 to 400,000 users will have adopted paid services. According to the report's author, marketers will need to determine whether mobile television will be a submarket or will grow into the next big mass market, reports Mediaweek.com. There are more than 160 million Internet-enabled cell phones already in circulation today and close to 5 million Americans who now own video-enabled handsets, according to MediaPost Behavioral Insider. A survey last month showed that 40% of brands in Europe are already using text messaging campaigns and 89% plan to market with mobile phones by 2008.