BT Boards On-Demand Bandwagon With Broadband Services
Internet giant British Telecom has confirmed that it has plans to offer broadband customers a mix of on-demand movies, music and TV content through their phone line, and is considering building on the existing Freeview platform to provide a ready-made customer base.
The revelations come in reports this morning, with BT’s chief executive Andrew Burke reportedly stating: “It is not about competing with Sky, but there is an opportunity to give extra value to Freeview customers. It will be relatively easy for them to get on-demand via set-top boxes.”
The claims, made in Marketing, underline previous speculation that BT would roll out a nation-wide TV on-demand service last year (see BT In Talks To Offer Advanced Freeview). November also saw the telecoms giant create an entertainment division within its retail and consumer business, believed to be at the centre of its planned on-demand services (see BT Appoints Management Team For Broadband TV Venture).
On-demand TV and film content services look set to be big news in 2005, with broadband TV provider, Homechoice, due to extend their customer base with an expansion into the south (see HomeChoice Boosts Coverage To Customers Outside London). While cable giants NTL and Telewest recently unveiled the first phase of their bespoke on-demand offerings (see Cable Giants Launch On-Demand TV And Movie Services).
Meanwhile, the infrastructure for on-demand video services via broadband is growing. BT recently announced a staggering increase in the uptake of its broadband internet services, with the company now signing up a new high-speed customer every ten seconds (see BT Claims Broadband Takeup Accelerating).
Elsewhere, reduced connection and rental charges for Local loop unbundling services announced by Ofcom last year should result in a more competitive and innovative telecoms market, with customers offered cheaper broadband packages and increased multi-media content (see Lower Charges To Boost Internet Customer Choice).
BT: 0207 469 2337 www.btplc.com Freeview: 08708 80 99 80 www.freeview.co.uk
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