BT TV Proposals May Be Bad News for MSOs in U.K. .....................
mediacentral.com
By Simon Bond
In what would be a blow to the British cable industry, U.K. telco giant BT could begin to deliver TV service to customers over its telephone network as early as next year, according to a Department of Trade & Industry consultation paper that'll be published in the next two weeks.
Under current regulations set by Britain's former government under prime minister John Major, BT may not be able to get into the TV business until 2001.
However, advisers in the new Labour Party government have been working since May's general election to formulate new policy options.
The consultation paper is expected to put forward three plans:
* End BT's broadcast ban in 1998 if the telco connects schools free of charge to the Internet.
* Allow BT partial entry into the market in predominantly rural areas that aren't currently franchised to cable operators.
* Definitely delay the telco's entry until 2000.
BT is well-positioned to exploit the opportunity to deliver new services when the regulations change, according to industry observers. The telco recently announced plans to extend its ADSL trials that'll include competing service providers.
BT is an investor in British Interactive Broadcasting, which aims to deliver digital TV service some time next year.
U.K. MSOs, who serve some 2 million British subscribers, already face stiff competition from BSkyB, which counts some 4 million customers.
British MSOs are predicting that they'll serve about 4 million subscribers by the end of 1998, especially if the pace of consolidation continues, operators can craft stronger marketing campaigns, and more economical programming deals can be cut with suppliers.
Still, MSOs' efforts to gain subscribers would be complicated if BT were to get into the TV business, according to industry observers.
(November 3, 1997) |
