Telecoms giant, British Telecom (BT), is in advanced talks with a number of broadcasters, including BSkyB, ITV and the BBC to discuss the possibility of delivering popular television programmes over high-speed internet connections.
According to a report from Ovum analyst, John Delaney, BT has plans to break in to the pay-per-view television market with the launch of a new BT-branded digital TV and internet service.
BT is hoping to offer an enhanced Freeview service, which will offer the full range of digital channels offered currently by the free-to-air multi channel service, as well as access to an extensive library of films, dramas and other TV content on demand.
Delaney said: “Those who were observing the UK telecoms industry a decade ago will have a strong sense of deja vu about all this. BT has tried to get into the TV and video business before and it all came to nothing. We need to wonder, then, why BT – and many other incumbent telecos around the globe – are mounting another assault on the market for TV and video distribution.”
Telecom’s companies have finally realised the mounting threat that cable companies which offer ‘triple play’ services such as; telephony, broadband internet and television content, pose. Group’s such as BT are now forced to make a transition in to this market because they simply cannot afford not to.
Delaney says he is less convinced about BT’s intention to offer video-on-demand (VoD) services because it is not needed to match triple player packages. He said: “The positive (non-defensive) business case is much harder to provide for VoD than it is for broadcast TV.”
Former BBC director-general, Greg Dyke, recently forecast a leap in capability for interactive TV with the launch of new broadband technology from TV, which allows viewers to choose from personalised programmes at the touch of a button.
However, writing in the Independent, he also predicted that merely allowing viewers to choose between four video feeds would not remain cutting edge for long and that technology in development by BT held the key to interactivity in the future.
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