Virgin Media-O2 is working on launching its own IPTV offering by the end of 2021, the company’s CEO has revealed.
Lutz Schueler told the RTS Cambridge Convention “We will be launching soon our first IPTV offer.”
The new product is expected to branded Virgin Media and will be aimed at younger viewers, according to Reuters.
“If we don’t innovate, we will die,” Schueler added. “If we innovate together, we will create value and when we create value we will also compete internationally.”
Virgin Media-O2 would be a late entry into the IPTV market, with Sky launching its service NOW in 2012.
Media analyst Paolo Pescatore tells TVBEurope he thinks the launch of a dedicated IPTV service would be a “very much smart and much needed move” as TV remains an achilles heel for Virgin Media.
“There could be opportunities to disconnect the TV from the cable broadband service allowing the entity to broaden its addressable market. Furthermore, it would offer the company scope to cross sell a TV service into the O2 base and sway users from rival networks.”
Pescatore adds that the company will face a challenge in terms of how to differentiate its offering in an already crowded market: “While NOW appears to be well established, arguably it has not been a runaway success.”
TVBEurope contacted Virgin Media-O2 for more details. A spokesperson said more information will be announced at launch.
