An average revenue growth of 33% has been predicted for the coming year, which is an increase of 6% on that being predicted at the beginning of 2009.
Commenting on the findings, Andrew Bud, global chair of MEF, said: “The latest findings demonstrate that the BCI continues to offer us invaluable insight into the state of our industry. The economic downturn has proved challenging for us all but despite this, overall confidence in the growth of the market remains steady.
A 6% increase in the predicted growth of the market since the beginning of the year shows that despite a general downturn and a degree of belt-tightening in some areas, any remaining uncertainty is offset by a sense of optimism within the industry looking forward. This quiet confidence and positive outlook suggests that we are going to see some exciting opportunities developing within our industry.”
Rimma Perelmuter, executive director at MEF, added: “The results point to a divide between the established and emerging markets. Our members in the established markets such as Western Europe and North America are forecasting relatively stable revenues but see emerging markets such as Central and Latin America, as well as India, driving proportionately larger revenue increases for the coming year.
“With the majority of respondents also telling us that their actual performance for the last quarter was either in line with or better than budgeted, the industry has demonstrated resilience and confidence of heading in the right direction.”
While Mark Harding, director of digital content at KPMG, who analysed the survey findings, stated: “Paid for content is still a big revenue generator for the mobile media sector, with respondents predicting that 63% of their revenue over the next quarter will come from both subscription and one off purchases. Games, video, music, social networking and infotainment continue to lead the way.
The survey results also show that the well publicised growth of applications is developing into tangible revenue streams. 14% of all revenue is now projected to come from applications, with an expectation that over half of this revenue will be generated through consumers buying them. This is a new and fast growing revenue stream for the industry. These results demonstrate what can be achieved through a positive consumer experience and that consumers are willing to pay for content they value.”