CABLE GROUP UPC Ireland is planning to launch an aggressive €2 million marketing campaign to poach customers from satellite rival Sky and telephone provider Eircom for its cheaper bundled package of TV, broadband and phone services.

UPC will roll out the campaign from the start of August and highlight to customers the potential to save up to €530 a year by switching from Sky and Eircom to its triple-play services.

"It's a ratcheting up of our campaign to win back customers from Sky," UPC's head of marketing Mark Coan told The Irish Times.

“August is the time when people start thinking about their TV for the new football season,”

Mr Coan said UPC had poached 70,000 customers from Sky over the past 12 months. This is the first time since Sky entered the Irish market in the early 1990s that UPC has been winning back customers.

“Our internal research has shown there is still a bit more work to be done on informing current Sky customers that they will not lose out on any quality by switching to UPC.”

Mr Coan said 88 per cent of Sky’s Irish customers also have an Eircom phone line, so it makes sense to target both companies in its latest campaign.

UPC is the new brand name for the former NTL and Chorus businesses, which for years lagged behind Sky in terms of innovation and suffered from poor customer care. This resulted in UPC’s TV customer base shrinking over a period of time.

But a near €1 billion investment in the businesses by US parent Liberty Global has resulted in UPC raising its game.

The new advertising campaign will focus on UPC’s triple play offering of digital TV, 15mb broadband and free evening and weekend phone calls within Ireland.

Subscribers also get Setanta Sports Ireland and American sports channel ESPN included in their digital packages.