Free to Premium in Mobile TV Service: Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivational Factors Affecting Free Users’ Paid Subscription Intention

Mobile TV refers to the service that provides live broadcasting and video-on-demand content through a mobile device. In addition to the advertisement as the early-stage revenue model, the paid subscription model has emerged as a more sustainable revenue source for mobile TV services. In this study, with the surveys of 450 free mobile TV users, we examine the motivational factors influencing their intention to adopt a paid subscription model. Results show that three extrinsic motivations, price fairness, subjective norm, and mobile TV utilization, are positively associated with free users’ paid subscription intention. In contrast, intrinsic motivations, such as hedonic need, spatiotemporal convenience, and self-efficacy, have no significant influence on the intention. We also found that the expected value is positively associated with attitude toward mobile TV service, also positively influencing the paid subscription intention.