Feature

Datamonitor: Customers matter more than technology

Market analyst Datamonitor seems to have discovered ‘convergence’; a new report says consumers are adopting technologies and services that blur the boundaries between entertainment and communication.



Datamonitor argues that the level of consumer demand and acceptance of new services is far more important for the adoption of technologies in the media and broadcasting sector than the nature of the technology itself: "Just because a media technology looks good does not mean that it will be successful ... Consumers will only use new technologies if they see value or are positively affected in some way by a service - whether that service is mobile broadcast TV, IPTV, social networking or online advertising.

“Organisations involved in the telecommunications, media and entertainment space need to address this issue and not simply endorse new services simply due to the attractiveness of the technology."
On the other hand, Datamonitor homes in on mobile broadcast TV and suggests that while consumers may be willing to give it house room, there are several serious drawbacks to its widespread adoption. Competing formats and spectrum allocation are cited, though Datamonitor considers mobile TV an extremely lucrative opportunity for both content providers and operators if those two barriers can be overcome.