BT To Supplement Freeview With On-Demand Content
The rise of Freeview looks set to receive another boost next summer, with BT believed to be developing a terrestrial set-top box capable of tapping into its network to supplement free-to-air channels with IPTV content and paid-for broadcasts.
The new product, long expected from the telecoms giant (see BT Plans To Take On BSkyB With Broadband TV Service), was first mooted last year. However, several rival telecoms providers, such as ntl and Telewest, have since begun to roll out their own on-demand and IPTV services, eating into a market which BT is clearly keen to capitalise upon (see Cable Giants Launch On-Demand TV And Movie Services).
BT’s new service looks likely to provide customers with access to television content from the main terrestrial broadcasters for up to seven days since its original broadcast, aping the capabilities of services such as HomeChoice, which recently extended its Replay functionality to include popular programming from the BBC’s digital portfolio (see HomeChoice Boosts Replay To Encompass Digital Channels).
BT’s decision to build upon the existing Freeview platform could provide a further boost to the service, which is currently used by almost 10 million households in Britain. The strategy was first revealed at the beginning of the year, 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” (see BT Boards On-Demand Bandwagon With Broadband Services).
However, such a move would place BT in direct competition with Sky, which announced its first foray into truly on-demand viewing last month.
The company will allow customers to download movie and sports content via the internet for the first time (see Sky To Provide Content Via Internet Downloads), while separate reports suggest that the broadcaster’s forthcoming high definition set-top box will include a broadband modem for further content on-demand (see New Sky Box To Pack Broadband For On-Demand TV).
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