Study: Subscribers want ad-supported mobile audio

A new joint study issued by consumer research firms Arbitron and Telephia reports that more than three quarters of consumers who listen to audio content via mobile device expressed a preference for free, advertiser-supported content over subscription or other premium services. According to the study--a 15-minute online survey of over 2,000 wireless subscribers conducted in February 2007--one in 16 mobile subscribers report using one or more mobile audio features in the last 30 days. Among the general mobile population, music downloaded over-the-air boasts the highest consumer awareness, although most users access mobile audio by listening to music transferred from another device.

Mobile audio users also represent a lucrative segment of the wireless demographic: 56 percent spend more than $60 a month on mobile services. "There is an opportunity for wireless providers, programmers and marketers to develop an advertising model for mobile audio," said Telephia senior product manager Wayman Leung in a prepared statement. "Most current mobile audio users prefer the ad-supported model over paying a subscription fee. And this group is a very attractive demographic for advertisers to target as it's comprised mainly of affluent, tech-savvy early adopters."

However, Telephia and Arbitron say attracting new subscribers poses a considerable challenge: approximately two-thirds of "non-current" mobile audio users are "not interested at all" in accessing existing mobile audio services.

For more on the Telephia/Arbitron report:
- read this release

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