What has been described as “a quagmire of regulatory delays” is hampering mobile TV spectrum availability in Europe, according to a report from Strategy Analytics.

These delays are predicted to delay the adoption of mobile TV systems and handsets based on the DVB-H standard over the next two to three years, said the report.

“These regulatory delays, combined with the success of ISDB-T in Japan, the momentum of DMB services in Korea, the commitment of the two largest operators in the US to using MediaFLO, and the rising chorus of support for MBMS in 3GPP2 will create a much more fragmented mid-term for mobile TV adoption globally,” states Chris Ambrosio, Director in the Wireless Practice at Strategy Analytics.

“With regard to music adoption, the next challenge is for device vendors to find a way to push music into mid-tier price points without negatively impacting usability,” states Bonny Joy, Analyst at Strategy Analytics.

According to Joy, Sony Ericsson and Samsung have the advantage in marketing these entertainment features alongside strong consumer electronics brands. While Sony Ericsson has made huge strides in this direction with Walkman, Cybershot and Bravia sub-brands, Samsung and Panasonic are struggling to leverage strong consumer brands to drive handset sales.

The report also said that handset firms such as Nokia are trying to carve out differentiated streaming-video enabled product positions in order to leverage the Web 2.0 phenomena.  In the long-term, streaming video features will serve as the next major enabler beyond messaging to drive broader mass market demand for smart 3G devices.