Mobile adult subscriptions could be worth $1bn by 2015, report claims

2 May 2012

The increasing smartphone and tablet user base will mean greater revenues for mobile adult subscription services, a report from Juniper Research claims.

The Mobilising Adult Revenues white paper, which forms part of a larger study on mobile adult content, explores the various models for monetising mobile adult content and reckons that the growing number of smartphone and tablet users in key markets will see revenues from mobile adult subscriptions reach nearly $1bn by 2015.

Tablets offer users a more engaging experience, high-quality images, and more options when browsing, so the benefits of providing content on these platforms is clear. Although the rise in these devices has also seen increasing competition from free adult content, the average spend per user is still going up, the report found.

A growing source of revenue

“Mobile adult subscriptions will be a growing source of mobile adult revenues,” says the report’s author, Charlotte Miller. “Niche content has always been a driver of paid adult content and this is no less true on mobile. While there has been a proliferation of free content, it remains the case that for specialised content, users must continue to pay.”

The majority of tablet users are expected to come from regions that, historically, have spent the most on adult subscriptions and Juniper Research predicts North America and Western Europe will account for more than 70pc of total end-user mobile adult revenues.

The report also anticipates that adult videochat users will more than triple by 2015, and that this will account for more than half of mobile adult content revenues.

Elaine Burke is the host of For Tech’s Sake, a co-production from Silicon Republic and The HeadStuff Podcast Network. She was previously the editor of Silicon Republic.

editorial@siliconrepublic.com