Telegent Systems Survey Reveals That Free-to-Air Mobile TV is a 'Killer Application' Driving Handset Sales
- 74% of respondents watch TV on their handset for thirty minutes or longer
- 54% watch TV on their handset five times a week
- 88% find picture quality acceptable
SUNNYVALE, Calif., /PRNewswire/ -- Telegent Systems, the
company that makes television mobile with its high-performance
single-chip mobile TV solutions, today revealed key findings of the
industry's first post-sale mobile TV survey. The survey shows that
mobile TV can have a significant impact on handset sales, with 85% of
respondents stating that the primary influence driving their handset
purchase decision was the built-in free-to-air TV feature, as opposed
to screen size, camera, music capability, or fashion.
The study, conducted in China where there are now more than three
million users of free-to-air mobile TV, also reveals that free-to-air
TV continues to be a compelling feature after purchase, with 74% of
respondents watching television on their handset for thirty minutes or
more at a time, and 54% watching five times a week.
"With more than five million consumers using Telegent-enabled
handsets at the end of 2007, Telegent has been able to gain
unprecedented insight into the impact of free-to-air mobile TV on
consumer behavior," said Weijie Yun, president & CEO of Telegent
Systems. "Mobile TV, when it provides consumers with access to the same
live, familiar programming that they view and enjoy at home, is a
highly attractive feature with continuing perceived value following
purchase."
Free-to-air Mobile TV a High Utility Feature
The consumers in Telegent's survey not only integrated free-to-air
mobile TV into their daily routine, but also found long-term value in
the feature. At the time of handset purchase, 90% found the free-to-air
TV feature interesting or useful, and this remained true after four to
six months of use. 60% of users proactively recommended the feature to
friends and family.
Almost half of those surveyed watched TV on their handset while
traveling, with 43% watching at home and 17% while at the office.
Mobile TV was found to be most popular between 7-8pm, followed by a
morning commute peak of 7-9am, allowing operators and broadcasters to
reach a broader audience in a variety of locations.
The survey also showed a marked increase in mobile TV consumption
with a strong preference for long-form programming. 54% of users
surveyed five months ago watched mobile TV for ten minutes at a time,
whereas 74% of the respondents surveyed in 2008 watched mobile TV for
thirty minutes or longer.
"Mobile TV uptake is significantly influenced by the content that
consumers are able to view on their handsets," said Michelle Abraham,
principal analyst at In-Stat. "The growing success of free-to-air
mobile TV services suggests consumer preference for programs that are
most like what people view at home."
User Experience & Quality Playing Key Role in Adoption
Telegent's survey also showed that key drivers for consumer
awareness have been hands-on experience at the retail store (49%) and
recommendations from friends and family (35%). More passive channels,
such as TV and Internet, played a much less significant role,
suggesting that personal experience with the TV feature either at or
prior to the point of purchase has been key to spurring initial uptake.
Picture quality has also played a key role in market adoption, with
88% of respondents finding the quality acceptable. The consumers in the
study who perceived quality as acceptable watched TV more frequently,
for longer durations and were more likely to recommend the mobile TV
feature to family and friends.
For this survey, Telegent interviewed more than 400 consumers who
purchased Telegent-enabled handsets, half of which were interviewed in
February 2008, and the other half of which were interviewed between
July and September of 2007.
Telegent's survey can be requested at http://www.telegent.com/resources/survey.html.
About Telegent Systems, Inc.
Telegent Systems is a leading fabless CMOS semiconductor company
providing high performance, single-chip solutions enabling free-to-air
and pay-per-view mobile TV in mobile handsets, portable devices and
consumer electronics. Telegent's solutions make television mobile,
delivering both analog and digital broadcast reception with
unparalleled sensitivity and picture quality in mobile environments,
ultra-low power consumption and the highest integration simplifying
mobile device design and manufacture. Telegent Systems has its US
headquarters in Sunnyvale, California and a subsidiary in China. For
more information, visit http://www.telegent.com/.
Source: Telegent Systems
CONTACT: Diana Jovin of Telegent Systems, Inc., 
+1-408-990-7092
,
djovin@telegent.com; or Julie Walsh of Babel PR, 
+44 20 7434 5550,
telegent@babelpr.com, for Telegent
Web site: http://www.telegent.com/
http://www.telegent.com/resources/survey.html
NOTE TO EDITORS: Graphics for this release can be obtained at http://www.telegent.com/news/graphics/usersurvey.html