Entertainment goes mobile

Entertainment-themed websites are most popular with mobile Internet users in Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC), according to a global survey by The Nielsen Company.

The trend stands in stark contrast to the US and European markets, where information and news draw the most mobile Internet browsers. According to the survey, entertainment, gaming and music websites rank among the top five categories visited in all four BRIC countries, but do not have a place among the top US and European rankings.

In the US, entertainment, music, and games rank eighth, ninth, and tenth, respectively. One reason why people in the US and Europe don’t rely on mobile Internet for entertainment is that users have access to other sources of entertainment through a large distribution infrastructure, says Jeff Herrmann, VP of Mobile Media at Nielsen, adding: “Devices like iPods, too, meet consumers’ entertainment needs.”

—K.R. Balasubramanyam