WITH LOW-COST digital terrestrial television (DTT) on the horizon, cable TV operator UPC Ireland appears to be getting its retaliation in first. Cable TV providers NTL and Chorus will next week launch a €20 a month entry-level TV bundle called Digital Value. For that you’ll get 35 digital TV stations and a range of radio channels.
They already offer bundles of 80 and 120 channels costing €26 and €32 a month respectively for committed couch potatoes.
“We’re not going to make it very easy for DTT,” says UPC boss Robert Dunn.
Ironically for Dunn, his parent company Liberty Global is part of the Easy TV consortium with RTÉ that is bidding for DTT.
It’s to charge just €49 for a six-month subscription to a “soft pay” package of nine channels, including the UK terrestrial stations. Customers will also get the Irish terrestrial channels for free.
If you’re willing to spend €99 over six months for its “mid-tier” pack, you’ll get an extra 22 TV stations. Set-top boxes will cost €5 a month to rent.
How does Dunn feel about another member of the family looking to eat his lunch, especially as UPC is already losing television subscribers and is in the throes of a €600 million network upgrade?
“It’s absolutely inevitable that somebody is going to come in for DTT in Ireland and that it is going to be launched. Ultimately, if it is somebody in the Liberty Global family, that’s who I have to compete against.
“If Liberty Global didn’t do it, I’d still be potentially competing against the OneVision or Boxer consortiums. It’s my job to make sure I keep my customers happy.”
Dunn should discover the identity of this newest competitor on July 21st when the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland is due to announce a winner.
