The move to active mobile video offerings will grow as entertainment bundling with mobile services becomes a must, according to the "2018 Economics of Mobile Programming Report" by Kagan, the media research group within S&P Global Market Intelligence. North American and Asian markets lead the charge in a shift to active mobile video markets. In both the Asia-Pacific and North/South American regions, 86% of operators offer mobile video services, followed by 71% in the Mideast and Africa region.
John Fletcher, principle research analyst with S&P Global Market Intelligence, said: "As 5G moves forward, over the next decade consumers will increasingly make a choice between wires vs. wireless for home broadband. And mobile network operators are already bundling video services alongside mobile phone services to not only retain existing customers but to position themselves as a future one-stop shop for home broadband and video services."
The report reviews how mobile network operators (MNOs) across the world are approaching video services. Of the 159 global mobile operators reviewed in this year's report, 64% offer a mobile video service directly or via partnerships. Europe has the fewest mobile video services available at 28%, due in part to concerns over net neutrality rules.
Other findings indicate:
- In the United States, Verizon and T-Mobile are both poised to launch new mobile video services that may mirror AT&T's initial digital video offerings, DirecTV NOW and WatchTV.
- Mobile video services in Europe are most prevalent in markets where competition among operators is highest. In those markets, carriers looking to attract new customers offer access to mobile video or OTT services at discounted rates for a period of time. Those types of value-added services are uncommon in countries where competition in the mobile industry is less intense.
- With approximately 176 million 4G users (and rising), in the six Latin American countries covered in the report, mobile network operators that are able to create their own OTT video service have a lot to look forward to.
- After the Chinese government blocked YouTube in 2009, local video streaming platforms flourished.