On the positive side, adult content of any kind has historically proven to be profitable and in demand. And the past year has seen dramatic improvements in cellphone technologies, thanks to 3G phones with advanced video features and faster download speeds.
Perhaps most importantly, the industry seems to be developing a game plan for category growth. Earlier this year, officials from Vodafone, Playboy, Virgin Mobile U.K. and OhMobile convened in Miami for the first-ever Mobile Adult Content Congress.
But the reality is that mobile adult content brought in only $30 million in the U.S. last year and still has major hurdles to overcome, from content rating and age verification to lack of marketing channels.
Those in attendance at the Mobile Adult Content Congress dealt directly with several of these issues, including content ratings and age verification. One company, Waat Media, authored the Wireless Content Standards Rating Matrix that is used widely in Europe.
“We’re focused on how to do this responsibly,” Waat CEO Ian Aaron said. “We want to make sure we follow the appropriate standard for the market, make sure the carrier is comfortable with the content and that there’s age verification.”
Making sure carriers are comfortable is perhaps the greatest obstacle content providers face. Major carriers such as Cingular, Verizon and Sprint have stated on numerous occasions that they do not intend to allow any hardcore content on their networks.
Unlike most emerging technologies that have depended heavily on adult entertainment in the early stages of adoption, the cellular space has done just fine without any help from porn. As a result, carriers can afford to shun adult. Several even pulled out of the Mobile Adult Content Congress at the last minute due to fears that their attendance would be perceived negatively and lead to a backlash.
But some content providers, such as Cherrysauce, see a way around the issue of carrier reluctance altogether: by targeting consumers directly through WAP portals and using carriers only as a pipeline for content.
Cherrysauce Managing Director Julia Dimambro said that by doing so, her company doesn’t rely on its ability to get on carrier decks. The company also has the added perk of not having to give a portion of revenue to carriers. Carriers still benefit, however, from increased traffic.
Directly targeting consumers also allows content providers to avoid carrier restrictions that typically limit content to bikini models and glamour shots and focus on more-lucrative hardcore offerings.
“In the first version of [our WAP] portal, we had an equal split of softer glamour content and plus-18 adult content,” Dimambro said. “But the softer content produced less than 20 percent of revenues.”
There are, however, drawbacks to going after consumers directly. For example, it leaves all of the marketing up to individual content providers, something that’s easier said than done, according to wContent CEO Andy Kleitsch.
“You can’t always use the usual channels,” Kleitsch said. “Placing an ad in a family newspaper could be a problem.”
Then again, if a study released last month by Google is any indication, mobile content providers might not have to worry much about marketing their adult content. According to the study, which analyzed 1 million cellphone searches, 20 percent were for adult content, meaning cellphone users seem to be seeking it out despite the lack of widespread promotion.
