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Telco reportedly focusing efforts more on streaming, on-demand content than linear programming.
Vodafone is planning a soft launch of its long-anticipated U.K. TV service in October, it emerged over the weekend.
Sources cited in a Telegraph report on Sunday said the offering will be skewed more towards on-demand content and streaming than linear programming, and uses technology developed by New York-based TV platform maker Kaltura.
According to the report, Vodafone has struck a deal with Sky to include its Now TV streaming service with its upcoming set-top-box (STB), giving potential customers access to Sky Sports. Sources said the operator has yet to reach a content deal with BT regarding BT Sport.
The launch of Vodafone TV in the U.K. was expected to coincide with the roll out of its fixed broadband service. However, when Vodafone began offering Vodafone Home Broadband to select customers in June 2015 – followed by a nationwide rollout to all-comers in October – there was no sign of TV.
Rumours swirled that Vodafone’s TV service would come to market in November 2015, but still nothing happened.
Then, reports earlier this year claimed that Vodafone UK planned to launch TV towards the end of 2016.
It is likely that a soft launch of TV will take the same route to market as Vodafone Home Broadband.
The service was offered initially on a limited basis to select customers in June 2015, before being extended to all Vodafone customers in August. Only in October did Vodafone begin selling fixed broadband to customers of rival mobile operators.
When Vodafone UK does eventually launch TV, it will enter a crowded, competitive, and evolving market.
Traditional players like Sky, Virgin Media, TalkTalk and, more recently BT, battle one another, as well as myriad over-the-top (OTT) services from Netflix, Amazon, Google and Apple, which are facilitating a shift in viewing habits.
Indeed, according to Ofcom’s most recent Communications Market Report (CMR), the number of minutes spent watching TV per day fell to 216 in 2015, compared to 220 in 2014 and 242 in 2011. By contrast video-on-demand (VoD) usage among adults increased to 59% from 57% in 2014 and 43% in 2011.
