High Speed Internet Access (HSIA): Mobile Internet

The popularity of 3 Mobile’s offering of the Biggest Loser has caused some discussion about the commonly held viewpoints about the way mobile content is consumed.

Downloads of The Biggest Loser by 3 Mobile customers to watch on their mobile phone has set new records for 3. Perhaps more surprising has been two other stats:

• The average time spent watching The Biggest Loser on the mobile was 11.4 minutes
• The peak time for watching was between 10pm and 2am

The reason these figures were surprising is that it’s generally accepted that mobile entertainment is part of what’s been dubbed “snack culture” where people want bite sized entertainment and have a miniscule attention span. Content made specifically for mobile averages 3 minutes so an 11 minute engagement time is surprisingly long. The viewing time is surprising because we have an image of people consuming mobile entertainment whilst on the go. Typical scenarios usually cited are waiting for a bus or on a coffee break. The night viewing time observed by 3 mobile seems to suggest that people are watching when they don’t have anything particularly pressing to do. They’re not snatching a few moments out of a busy schedule and they’re probably not on the go either. They’re quite likely to be in bed.

Explanations that have been put forward are plausible. TV episodes are time sensitive in that people generally want to be up to date with free to air viewing so they can discuss with friends the next day. Entertainment creating specifically for mobile consumption tends not to be time sensitive in this way. The other point made was that people in Australia are generally worried about large excess data bills. The Biggest Loser content from 3 Mobile is unmetered but most tailor made content for mobile contributes to data downloads and therefore people are unlikely to sit and watch for long periods of time.

All this just shows that it’s early days for mobile content. Content providers and creators are still learning about the viewing habits of mobile users and these habits are likely to evolve as the distinction between mobile and fixed content blurs.

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