Strong growth amongst games and infotainment applications will push mobile entertainment revenues to more than $65bn per year by 2016, up from $36bn in 2011, according to a new report from Juniper Research.
The report, ‘Mobile Entertainment Strategies: Business Models & Forecasts 2012-2016,’ noted that an increased consumer adoption of casual games had been seen due to the transition to an app-store centric ecosystem, which also resulted in the development of a variety of content for mobile devices.
Hence, dramatic revenue growth has been experienced across a spectrum of infotainment services – most notably leisure and lifestyle applications.
The report, however, observed that some sectors in the entertainment would fare less well despite steady increase in the overall entertainment revenues, as in the case of music sector where growth in streaming subscriptions and full-track downloads have been more than offset by the continuing decline in ringtones.
Observing the increasing contribution made by consumer activity on tablet devices, report author Windsor Holden said for applications such as streamed TV, multiplayer gaming or casino gambling, tablets offer a richer, more immersive experience than smartphones
"This is already translating into markedly higher usage – and consumer spend – on selected apps within these areas," Holden said.
The largest share of mobile entertainment revenues throughout the forecast period will be accounted by far East & China, the report said.
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Juniper suggests that network operators should seek to leverage their billing relationship to retain a share of entertainment revenues, though they have largely been bypassed by OTT storefronts.
