Virgin taps non-cable market
Virgin Media is to launch a branded Freeview set-top box in its first move to build a TV presence in non-cable areas of the country.
The box will offer the standard Freeview range of digital terrestrial services, including more than 40 TV channels and 25 radio stations and red button interactivity.
It has a Virgin Media-branded electronic programme guide, but no pay-TV card slot.
The set-top box, which will not be sold in shops, will be free to non-cable customers taking Virgin Media's up to 8MB broadband and Talk Anytime phone bundle at £19.99 a month.
For non-cable customers taking a Virgin Media broadband service on its own there will be a one-off charge of £40 for the branded Freeview box.
Virgin Media can only offer its TV service to the approximately 50% of UK households that can receive cable, meaning the rest of the country cannot get its full "quadplay" offering of TV, broadband, fixed line and mobile phone services.
The launch of a Virgin Media Freeview box will allow it to offer a TV option in non-cable areas - although not the full pay-TV offering, including Sky's sports and movie channels, available to cable customers.
Virgin Media will also have one eye on BSkyB's plan to launch a Freeview pay-TV service this summer.
Philip Snalune, the managing director of non-cable at Virgin Media, said the set-top box was "just the first step and [the firm's] aim is to offer more advanced TV services in all areas throughout 2008".
"The digital switchover is just around the corner and we can now offer consumers across the UK a simple and low-cost way of making the digital leap, even if they can't get cable services," added Mr Snalune.
A report in January from JupiterResearch relating to digital switchover found that consumers value the TV providers offer, with additional bundled services such as broadband and phone lines of secondary importance.
According to the JupiterResearch report, more than 5m households in the UK still only have analogue TV.
The firm predicts that in the next five years, in the runup to digital switchover in 2012, 4.6m households will opt for Freeview's digital terrestrial TV service. It estimates Sky will attract 1.2m new households, with Virgin Media earmarked to win just 700,000.
Mark Sweney
Monday April 2, 2007
MediaGuardian.co.uk
© Guardian News and Media Limited 2007
Virgin Media is to launch a branded Freeview set-top box in its first move to build a TV presence in non-cable areas of the country.
The box will offer the standard Freeview range of digital terrestrial services, including more than 40 TV channels and 25 radio stations and red button interactivity.
It has a Virgin Media-branded electronic programme guide, but no pay-TV card slot.
The set-top box, which will not be sold in shops, will be free to non-cable customers taking Virgin Media's up to 8MB broadband and Talk Anytime phone bundle at £19.99 a month.
For non-cable customers taking a Virgin Media broadband service on its own there will be a one-off charge of £40 for the branded Freeview box.
Virgin Media can only offer its TV service to the approximately 50% of UK households that can receive cable, meaning the rest of the country cannot get its full "quadplay" offering of TV, broadband, fixed line and mobile phone services.
The launch of a Virgin Media Freeview box will allow it to offer a TV option in non-cable areas - although not the full pay-TV offering, including Sky's sports and movie channels, available to cable customers.
Virgin Media will also have one eye on BSkyB's plan to launch a Freeview pay-TV service this summer.
Philip Snalune, the managing director of non-cable at Virgin Media, said the set-top box was "just the first step and [the firm's] aim is to offer more advanced TV services in all areas throughout 2008".
"The digital switchover is just around the corner and we can now offer consumers across the UK a simple and low-cost way of making the digital leap, even if they can't get cable services," added Mr Snalune.
A report in January from JupiterResearch relating to digital switchover found that consumers value the TV providers offer, with additional bundled services such as broadband and phone lines of secondary importance.
According to the JupiterResearch report, more than 5m households in the UK still only have analogue TV.
The firm predicts that in the next five years, in the runup to digital switchover in 2012, 4.6m households will opt for Freeview's digital terrestrial TV service. It estimates Sky will attract 1.2m new households, with Virgin Media earmarked to win just 700,000.
Mark Sweney
Monday April 2, 2007
MediaGuardian.co.uk
© Guardian News and Media Limited 2007
