Is Four Play what the market wants? That’s broadband, fixed and mobile telephony, and TV? When Virgin Mobile and NTL first announced their plans to merge, analysts were cynical. It was a case of personal versus family. The choice of TV subscription, broadband supplier and fixed line telephony was a family decision. Mobile phones are personal. Why bring them together, they asked?
Then take into account that Virgin mobile tends to attract a more downmarket customer base - precisely the audience broadband and TV subscription companies are not interested in, and you see why there is cynicism.
But despite these misgivings the merger of NTL and Virgin Mobile went ahead. Sir Richard Branson became the company’s biggest shareholder, and with it the opportunity to add the title “media tycoon” to his name.
Since then war has broken out. Broadband has been attracting new contenders in the stakes to dominate the market for fast Internet access, like flies on, er, honey.
And in the battle to be number one, each contender has been claiming its free service is better, and cheaper than other free services.
NTL reckons it has risen above all that. In fact the company has slammed BSkyB for what it calls “hot air”. The company should know all about that, of course. After all, its main shareholder became even more famous through harnessing hot air to fly across the Atlantic. However, NTL claims the BSkyB free broadband service is not as cheap as they would have us believe, and is taking out ads in the national media to say so.
NTL, on the other hand is not pretending to offer free broadband. Not for them, giving broadband away for free, but making the money on other services. Instead, NTL has come up with a new and bold strategy: it’s charging for broadband, and giving away TV access.
In fact, the company will offering digital TV, with free broadband thrown in, for £20 a month. It claims, that at that price, it is £162 cheaper in year one than the free BSkyB service.
And for those of us who would like to see fixed and mobile telephony thrown in, it’s offering the full four play package for £40 a month
Will the public want all four? The move towards video TV on mobile phones shows the obvious synergy.
But, frankly if you want to view TV and video on your mobile, one would assume you would be more likely to be interested in the content available. The recent victory of BSkyB in securing the broadcasting rights for the lion’s share of premiership football, is perhaps a more significant than the NTL four play package.
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