Mobile TV China

Mobile television – made famous in 2005 by South Korea where citizens demanded to get their soap opera fix on their cell phones – is set to have its coming out party in China during the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The option to channel surf through other Olympic events on your phone during the timeout would probably be welcome; but beyond entertaining the masses, China has job creation on its mind. Bear in mind that the government has gone out of its way to develop China’s very own 3G network standard known as TD-SCDMA. The intention presumably is to give birth to a whole new high value technology industry that can help keep the country on its rapid growth pace.

Here are some figures on Mobile TV from Hong Kong Trade Quarterly:

According to a survey conducted by Mainland market research company CCID Consulting, mobile TV and music downloads are value-added services that cell phone subscribers prefer, accounting for 41.6% and 38.3% respectively.

Norson Consulting reckons that the number of mobile TV subscribers on the Chinese mainland will reach 52.2 million in 2008 and market value is expected to hit Rmb1.3 billion. After two more years of high-speed growth, the number of mobile TV subscribers should soar to 97.5 million by 2010, with market value reaching Rmb2.4 billion.