BT revamps TV offering with a la carte bolt-ons
BT IS stepping up its efforts to win television subscribers from rivals by giving customers the ability to build their own TV packages.
The telecoms giant, which has been going head to head with Sky after launching its own sports channels in August, said yesterday it would offer new entertainment and kids bolt-ons to its existing packages, starting at £3 per month.
“We know that customers don’t like paying a fortune for hundreds of channels they never watch so we’re making things easier for them and putting the choice in their hands,” said director of TV for BT Alex Green.
Customers can now add channel packages from different genres including music, kids and entertainment in bundles.
BT’s model is not entirely new. Sky offered genre-based television packages up until 2011 – customers were able to pick between small bundles of channels for a low cost – but this practice ended following feedback from customers that micromanaging multiple channel bundles was confusing.
Sky commercial group director Rob Webster said at the time that Sky would instead move back to larger bundles of channels: “We’re keen to get more pay channels into more homes in the most straightforward way.”
BT’s total TV customer base was 833,000 in June 2013, a number that BT – on the back of its recent efforts – will hope has grown significantly when it reports its second quarter results on Thursday.