Ericsson has conducted a quantitative market research web study in six countries - Italy, France, the UK, South Korea, the US, and Japan -  to gain more insight into mobile TV usage and behavior.

The study shows that the average consumer is a young, single male who has been using the service for less than six months. And it reveals that mobile TV consumers' needs and consumption behavior go well beyond the scheduled TV experience.

Mobile TV caters to new types of television: on-demand; interactive services; and podcasts. It is used for longer times and in more places than expected: almost 40 percent of respondents say they use it every day, from 15 to 30 minutes per day.

And mobile TV is not only for commuters; people are watching TV on their mobile phones even at home.

Anders Kälvemark from Ericsson ConsumerLab says that understanding mobile TV usage and behavior - for example, appreciating that people are watching shorter sequences on mobile TV because of commuting times and interruptions - is essential when developing a successful service.

Asked about the future of mobile TV, consumers say they hope it will work much like an MP3 player: they want to be able to select a program, pause it, and then continue watching it later.

Curiosity, convenience, and passing the time while waiting or commuting are the main triggers for mobile TV consumption. People are interested in what's new, what will make their lives easier, and what content they can choose for themselves. Today, most are curious about the service, but in the future, Kälvemark says, it will be convenience and the need to stay up to date that will drive consumers to tune into mobile TV.

Sixty percent of consumers said they would prefer to have content delivered on demand; in France, that number increased to 75 percent. People in the US were the most satisfied with the service, while those in Japan were the least satisfied.

Kälvemark says: "We need to make mobile TV even better, and one way of doing that is improving the functionality of the service. The study taught us that we need to deliver the highest quality service and make mobile TV available for everyone - as you want it and at your own convenience. The consumer decides."