Ad-Funded Moible US Entertainment to Reach $336.35 Million by 2013, Says MEF

By Editor Wireless and Mobile News on May 29, 2008 1:02 PM

The Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF) has published a report that takes an in-depth look into the impact of ad-funded mobile entertainment (AFME) on the mobile entertainment market in the U.S. The report forecasts that the U.S. AFME market will be worth a total of US$336.35 million by 2013, expanding the already burgeoning mobile entertainment market by 4.6%.

Brands subsidizing content will contribute the majority of the revenue (US$262.7 million) as they look to capitalize on mobile's captive audience, and the remainder will come from premium content up-sells (US$73.7 million). Mobile video and TV will generate 41.4% of ad-funded revenues by 2013, with music at 34.5% and games at 24.1%.

"AFME is just beginning in the U.S., and its promise is clear," said Andrew Bud, Chairman, MEF Global. "Its contribution of US$336.35 million by 2013 to the mobile entertainment business shows that it will have a real impact on the future of our industry."

"MEF is at the forefront of providing our members with market data and information allowing them to make informed business decisions. In the report, we have shown that being able to provide consumers with content for free or at a subsidized rate can drive up mobile content consumption by up to 4.6% in the U.S. alone," added Suhail Bhat, Policy and Initiatives Director, MEF.

Since February 2008, MEF has provided the Industry with a roadmap of AFME for the on-portal mobile entertainment market in the U.K. and France. An AFME study on India will be released at CommunicAsia (June 17-20).

Since releasing the results of its industry survey on AFME in 2006, MEF has worked to ensure that ad-funded mobile entertainment services have the potential to redefine the way customers engage with and consume mobile content. The unique strengths of mobile to deliver targeted, location based and real time content have yet to be taken advantage of by the mobile industry. MEF currently has two working groups composed of industry leaders specifically examining the potential for AFME and how this potential can be realized. The first working group is looking at developing metrics and measurement, and the second is looking at education -- MEF will produce a lexicon and develop a guide setting out the different types of mobile content and examine how best services can be ad-funded and what the business models will look like.

The report is available to MEF members at www.m-e-f.org