While U.S. wireless carriers have been reluctant to jump into the adult content market, many analysts say that widespread adoption of porn on cellphones is inevitable.
According to research firm the Yankee Group, several factors make increased distribution of adult content on wireless devices more likely in the next few years, from technological developments such as high-resolution color screens and video playback to increasing consumer comfort with purchasing of ringtones and other phone content.
But the single greatest factor, according to analyst Jeff Kagan, is the profit motive. Consumers will find ways to download adult content, he says, and carriers will want a piece of the action.
For proof, one need look no further than the rollout earlier this year of the PlayStation Portable. Within weeks of the product hitting the market, several companies announced that they were making adult content available for the devices to meet consumer demand.
By establishing standards such as a rating system and age-verification solutions, carriers “can ensure they don’t lose out on a new revenue stream,” Kagan says.
Dorian Benkoil, a senior consultant at Teeming Media, adds that adult content providers are likely to accelerate demand through push-marketing efforts similar to those that drove the growth of adult websites on the Internet.
“These folks are nothing if not bottom-line oriented, and they always want to make it easy for someone to find, access and, if necessary, pay for and download their material,” Benkoil says. “They understand how to make people keep clicking through for more, using design that shows off what users presumably want.
“I would bet they’re avid viewers of weblogs and other analytics to see what is causing the most click-throughs and funnel analysis to check on abandonment points and ratio of click-in to purchase,” he says, adding that developers of mobile adult content are likely to use similar analytics to drive sales.
Several firms already have started ramping up efforts to meet the expected demand. Xobile offers a range of content from many top-name studios in 152 different genres, and recently signed an eight-month exclusive licensing deal with Vivid Entertainment Group.
Similarly, Brickhouse Mobile has signed exclusive contracts to develop and distribute content from including New Frontier Media, Wicked Pictures, Suze Randall, Falcon Studios and Homegrown Video.