How Mobile TV Could Finally Find an Audience

If you experience Déjà vu when reading headlines like “Mobile TV ready for prime time” and “Mobile TV gains steam in the U.S.,” you've probably followed the industry for a while. We were up to our ears in claims like these a few years ago, when players rushed to build out nationwide networks dedicated to bringing video to mobile phones. Thanks to a lack of demand, only Qualcomm’s FLO network saw the light of day, and even that service has gone dark. And while analysts generally agree the market will grow in the coming years, eMarketer predicts only 17.6 percent of the U.S. population will be watching mobile video in 2014. Those trying to monetize mobile video need to address some key challenges: 1) Mobile-optimized content and service, 2) Bigger and better devices, 3) Improved connectivity, and 4) Support from advertisers.