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Newspaper reports suggest that the newly merged telco giant is preparing to bundle Pay-TV services with fixed broadband, phone, and mobile plans
According to reports, Vodafone and Three may be preparing to launch a Pay-TV, seeking to capitalise on their newfound scale and help grow their subscriber base.
The Telegraphnotes that discussions between the two operators on this topic have already begun, but highlights that no formal decision has been made.
As such, the specifics of the potential offering are yet to be decided but are likely to include broadcast TV as well as streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime.
Vodafone–Three’s largest rivals, Virgin Media O2 and BT (EE) both already offer Pay-TV services, hence the operator’s interest in this space is hardly surprising. However, success in the Pay-TV market is far from guaranteed. These offerings must compete in a highly competitive streaming market, with viewing habits shifting away from conventional TV services.
BT itself has notably reduced its focus on the Pay-TV segment in recent years, with the traditional customers increasingly preferring to subscribe to streaming services independently.
That said, it is worth noting that Vodafone Group already has experience with the converged Pay-TV formula, with the company already offering similar bundled services in Germany and the Netherlands with some success. In the UK, the company’s TV offering has so far been limited to providing subscribers with an Apple TV box as part of certain packages.
The £15 billion merger of Vodafone and Three was finally approved by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in December last year. The move will make Voda–Three the largest mobile network operator in the UK, with around 27 million subscribers.
How will the Vodafone–Three merger impact the UK telecoms industry? Join the discussion next week at Connected North, live in Manchester
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