SFN report: 1seg digital mobile TV hit 20 million in Japan in '07

Posted by Erina Lin on June 25, 2010 at 5:36 PM

1seg is a mobile terrestrial broadcasting service offering digital audio/video and data in Japan and Brazil. The service was introduced experimentally in 2005 and commercially launched on April 2006 in Japan. In Brazil, it began in late 2007 in a few selected cities. The first mobile phone handsets for 1seg were on the market in autumn 2005 in Japan, SFN's World Digital Media Trends 2009 reported.

According to data from JEITA and NTT DoCoMo, there was only a small number of 1seg-enabled mobile phone handsets in March 2006, but in December 2007, that number reached 20 million in Japan.

According to CIAJ and MMRI, in Japan an average user consumes 1seg 6.1 times per week, with peak use at 11.7 times. A user views mobile TV for about 47 minutes on average per week, while three out of four of those sessions lasting less than 10 minutes each.

The viewing peak time is on weekdays is between 9 p.m. to 12 a.m. Weekend usage is much lower than weekdays.

Also, half of the users use e-mail or voice services while watching mobile TV, according to the report, World Digital Media Trends 2009, released by SFN and the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers.