Mobile porn subscriptions to be worth $1bn by 2015

As the cast of the musical Avenue Q once sang, “the internet is for porn”. Given that we increasingly use smartphones and tablets online, it’s hardly surprising that mobile adult content revenues are expected to hit US$11-billion by 2015.

Yup, that’s right. Our mobile gadgets are set to become just as dirty as our desktop computers.

According to tech research company Juniper Research, the massive growth in adult content will largely be down to more people buying smartphones and tablets. Even though there’s a load of free content out there, the company reckons that people will still be willing to spend.

The reason they’re willing to pay up? Niche tastes, says Juniper Research. Hey, it all kinds I suppose.

According to Juniper Research’s Charlotte Miller:

Niche content has always been a driver of paid adult content and this is no less true on mobile. While there has been a proliferation of free content, it remains that case that for specialised content, users must continue to pay.

Juniper Research thinks that tablets will be a particularly big market when it comes to porn. This is partially because “the majority of tablets will be in the very regions which have historically spent the most on adult subscriptions”, but also because “ offer users a more engaging experience as they are able to see content in more detail as well as see more options when browsing”.

Getting people to sign up in emerging markets may, however, be a bit of a problem. Among the barriers listed by the research company are: low smartphone take up and a lack of viable payment methods, such as credit card usage.

In many cases, legal and social barriers will also inhibit the growth of mobile adult subscription revenues in these markets.

One area set to experience particularly large-scale growth is Adult Videochat, with users expected to more than triple by 2015 accounting for over half of mobile adult content revenues.