The European convergence market is set to explode, according to a report by interactive media consulting group Digiscope, published by Phillips Global Media.
Projections show that users of digital TV, mobile/wireless and Internet-converged devices are expect to grow from a 1.6 million user base at the end of 1999 to nearly 70 million convergent customers in 2005.
Entitled "Digital TV, Internet and Mobile Convergence - developments and projections for Europe", the report states that convergence is still many years away and faces considerable cultural and technological hurdles.
The real significance of convergence in the short- to medium-term is the development of the "convergent consumer", and the way digital platforms allow a much more sophisticated, interactive and responsive relationship with the customer, concludes the study.
Author of the report Barry Flynn says: "The message of the report is that many of the perceived values of convergence are actually years away. If anything, digital has brought more fragmentation of service than convergence. Europe, however, is rapidly developing a significant market of 'convergent consumers`. The new digital platforms allow a much more sophisticated development of the customer relationship, tracking and managing their likes and dislikes across platforms."
The report states that Scandinavia and the UK have the highest penetration of cross-platform consumers and the best overall infrastructures across the three platforms, with Belgium and Italy the worst.
Flynn adds: "In the new convergent marketplace, consumer meta content (content about consumers) is going to be as important as content itself. The owners of meta content are going to be extremely powerful in the new convergent marketplace and companies such as BSkyB, Vivendi, NTL, Vodafone and UPC look particularly well positioned to exploit this rapidly growing marketplace."
External links:
Convergence Index - European Rankings 1999
Convergence Index - European Rankings 2005
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