SportBusiness Predicts Massive Growth in Mobile Phone Use
New report predicts global mobile subscriber numbers to reach 2.5bn in five years
Tuesday 12th April 2005
According to a new report from SportBusiness Group, ‘Mobile Technologies: Opportunities for Sport’, mobile subscribers globally are expected to grow by around two-thirds over the next five years, passing the 2.5bn mark.
Mobile technologies offer a unique and increasingly important channel for sport. The report notes that the universal availability of the mobile phone and its phenomenally successful market penetration enables sport businesses to reach a much wider audience than is achievable through either broadband or interactive TV. New, higher speed mobile networks are yielding enhanced levels of functionality and new services are regularly being added to the mobile portfolio. Combined with the inherent convenience of anytime, anywhere accessibility, mobile is becoming an essential medium for delivering sport services.
According to the report, unlike the Internet, mobile content has multiple proven revenue streams with a customer base accustomed to paying for new services. For sports rights holders, mobile also provides new opportunities to enhance the relationship with fans while, for mobile operators, sport is an essential part of the content offering, driving subscriber upgrades to new 3G networks.
