Telewest On Demand To Reach 1 Million By 2006
Telewest Broadband is transforming its television service, aiming to give consumers greater access to, and control over, digital programmes, hoping to complete national rollout of television-on-demand (TVOD) to over one million digital TV customers by early 2006.
The company will also be widening the range of on-demand programming available, boosting its existing movie service and including 60 hours of BBC content, at no extra cost to customers. There will also be a mix of free and subscription services offered, including popular television series, music videos and niche content.
Following the initial launch of TVOD in Bristol, which saw the service available to around 2,000 of the company’s digital TV customers, Telewest Broadband will make the service available, region by region, throughout the second half 2005, starting with 26,000 customers in Cheltenham who are set to receive the service in early July.
Telewest Broadband also announced a phased analogue switchover programme, aiming to migrate its remaining 171,000 analogue TV customers to digital by the end of 2006, supporting the government’s plans to complete the switchover nationally by 2012.
Ofcom’s new Consumer Panel Study recently revealed that less than a third of UK consumers have heard the term “digital switchover”, with 71% out of the 2,500 surveyed not knowing that the analogue signal is due to be switched off in 2012 (see UK Public Unaware Of Impending Digital Switchover).
Commenting on the initiative, Eric Tveter, president and chief operating officer at Telewest said: “We are transforming TV as we know it by giving consumers both a superb choice of programmes and the flexibility to watch then whenever they want.”
Tveter continued: “We don’t ever want to hear our customers say there’s nothing on the box or that they have missed their favourite programme, and while digital TV goes from strength to strength, analogue has finally had its day.”
The TVOD service gives users instant access to a vast library if films and TV programmes, available via the remote control and existing set top box. Telewest Broadband plans to invest around £20 million in the development of TVOD and personal video recorder (PVR) services during 2005 (see The PVR is Transforming – Time is Running Out for Advertisers and Agencies).
Telewest launched its first fully fledged on-demand services in January, allowing customers to view films provided by FilmFlex, while NTL customers in Glasgow were the first to try its on-demand TV service, dubbed NTL On Demand earlier in the year (see Cable Giants Launch On-Demand TV And Movie Services).
Reports earlier this week suggested that ntl and Telewest Global were preparing for a £5.5 billion merger, hoping to create a more unified rival to BSkyB’s dominant digital satellite service. Ntl are believed to be employing Goldman Sachs to advise on the planned merge (see Cable Giants Mull Merger To Tackle Sky).
Telewest: 0845 142 0000 www.telewest.co.uk