NBC Universal doubles mobile-video market share

Views jump fivefold on Office, Rock

By Danny King -- Video Business, 2/3/2009

FEB. 3 | NBC Universal's U.S. market share of the mobile-video market doubled last year because of the combination of the popularity among Smartphone users of such shows as 30 Rock and The Office and the overall growth in mobile broadband usage.

With the increase, NBC Universal had 11% of the U.S. mobile-video market last year, up from 5% in 2007.

NBC Universal's mobile-video views jumped fivefold last year after the General Electric unit made more full-length shows from the flagship network as well as Sci Fi Channel and USA Network available to mobile-device customers, NBC Universal said in a statement yesterday.

Last August, about 6.5 million Americans watched mobile video, ComScore reported in October. However, Nielsen Mobile Video estimated that number at more than 10 million earlier this year.

Parks Associates forecast earlier this month that more than 140 million U.S. mobile-phone users will have broadband usage for services such as video by 2013.