BT Vision has become the fastest-growing pay-TV service in the UK, adding more customers in a quarter than BSkyB for the first time since launching more than four years ago.One thing I would say is that, with the analogue signal switch off now rolling around the country BT Vision is picking up those who don't fancy Sky or Virgin's relatively high monthly costs but fancy a bit more than the basic Freeview. I'd imagine in time this market will be better catered for by a combination of Freeview (including a handful of HD channels) and SmartTV services on the newer TV ranges, but for now BT is enjoying its (limited) success.
The telecoms company's pay-TV offering – which combines Freeview channels with sport, movies and on-demand content via broadband – said that the addition of the BBC iPlayer and a significant amount of on-demand content from major film studios had helped boost numbers.
BT Vision added 41,000 customers in the three months to the end of September, the most the service has attracted in a quarter for more than two years.
It also marks first time BT Vision has ever added more TV customers in a quarter than BSkyB since launching in mid-2007.
BSkyB added 26,000 pay-TV customers in the quarter to the end of September – well down on the almost 100,000 it reported in the same period in 2010 – while cable pay-TV operator Virgin Media's total television subscribers declined by almost 6,000 in the period.
"It is the first time we have beaten Sky since launch and we have added more customers than both [including Virgin Media] combined," said Marc Watson, chief executive of BT Vision. "It is very encouraging but we are not getting carried away. We are a young business with a lot to do."
Virgin Media refuted the claim, arguing that it added 42,000 new TV customers to its TiVo service. While this is slightly ahead of BT's growth rate, Virgin also lost customers in the third quarter, adding a net total of 28,800 pay-TV customers.
November 03, 2011
BT Vision "the fastest-growing pay-TV service in the UK"
Report from MediaGuardian:
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8 comments:
How can this be possible? they don't have Sky Atlantic..... I'm confused;-p
Heck, those that want to save money would go for TopUp TV instead, AND no need for a BB connection either!
How can this be possible? they don't have Tivo..... I'm confused;-p
@campbellg
there goes your arguement that sky atlantic is a must have channel it the most over rated channel ever
Well said David.
@David
I agree completely with you ive got sky Atlantic and ive never ever watched it every time i look on the guide there nothing special on there bigest wast of space ever come feb sky will be gone and will be getting a second tovo box screw skys crappy channel lol
TIVO**
Campbellg (is that a pseudonym for Troll?) I was trying to that make point that many people (including me) do not care a great deal about a channel that is made up of about 90% repeats and plenty of non hd recordings. You are right about TIVO too. A lot of people in the country dont really care about t.v. (me included) and therefore are not going to be bothered by TIVO or the poor Sky HD either. Thankfully I can afford to have the XL package and TIVO as a luxury so I can watch, record or do anything with the few programmes I actually watch in GLORIOUS HD. Your argument TIVO is ultimately weak because whether it be TIVO, freesat, freeview, freeview HD or BT vision, the BT vision folk have made a concious decision to pay for a service that does not include SKY £$%^&*£ ATLANTIC. That is the important thing in these figures not the TIVO box (which also had about 40,000 new takers)
Cheers, Oh please think of your own ways of expressing you opinions (i know you were trying to mock me) but its just not original or funny. TOODLES
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