UK Interactive TV--Liberty Media
NTL Unveils Interactive TV Platform; Telewest
May Adopt
By BILL MCINTOSH
Dow Jones Newswires
LONDON -- NTL Inc. (NTLI) Tuesday became Britain's first cable system operator to
launch interactive services and content linking television and the Internet.
The initial offering will feature interactive content in five areas - travel, sports, news,
entertainment and shopping - and draws together more than 40 branded services and
joint ventures. Partners include food retailer Tesco PLC (U.TSC), Bargainholidays.com
and booking service Ticketmaster.
"Being first will be a major advantage in gaining more content more quickly and getting
more experience," said Jeremy Thorpe, director of NTL Interactive. "We believe we
have a very significant lead in what we're doing."
Open, a rival interactive service controlled by British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC
(BSY) and British Telecommunications PLC (BTY) will compliment Sky Digital and is
due for launch in around mid-year.
NTL and Cable & Wireless Communications PLC (CWZ), Britain's largest cable
company, are in competing talks to offer their respective interactive platforms to
Telewest Communications PLC (TWSTY), the country's second largest cable system.
"We're looking at all the suppliers of interactive content and NTL could be one of those
companies, as could CWC," said a Telewest spokesman, adding that the talks include
digital platform and cable modem issues. "We're certainly talking to NTL but there aren't
any firm plans about a deal to be struck,"
NTL and Telewest are already partners in a cable movie service called Front Row.
In recent months all three of Britain's major cable companies have sought to coordinate
digital platform hardware and software to reduce launch costs as well as to pave the
way for franchise swaps and expected further mergers among the companies.
NTL hopes by year end to have 100,000 television users hooked up through a modum
connected with a BT phone line and 100,000 cable networks users.
Separately, the European Union Commission gave conditional antitrust clearance to an
international services joint venture between AT&T Corp. (T) and BT, although the
companies agreed to create "greater structural separation" between the U.S.-based
telecoms giant and its 21.6% interest in Telewest. AT&T inherited the stake when it
acquired Tele-communications Inc. last year.
Since then, the Telewest interest and other, mostly programming, assets have been
placed in Liberty Media headed by former TCI chief John Malone.
Analysts said the EC ruling meant that Liberty Media's board would operate
autonomously from AT&T on business matters relating to Telewest.
But few doubt that AT&T will sell the stake, which carries a market value of about
GBP1.2 billion.
"I still ask the question long term of what's the objective for AT&T holding a stake in
that business," said one cable company executive. "There's some significant value in that
and they will be looking how to realize it."
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