United Kingdom - Convergence - Triple Play & Digital TV - Background Report September 2010

Synopsis

The UK remains at the forefront of media convergence in Europe. The country’s universal DSL and extensive cable network have been extensively upgraded to provide an excellent delivery platform for converged and bundled offerings. The digital broadcasting industry, including satellite, digital cable, digital terrestrial and IPTV services, is well established. The UK has the highest level of digital TV penetration in Europe, with a substantial multichannel environment. This report examines the UK’s markets for bundled and convergent services in 2010, including developments in Video-on-Demand, IPTV and VoIP. It also assesses the country’s broadcasting markets, providing statistics and analysis on the closing analogue FTA environment and the pay TV and cable sectors. The separate Focus Report United Kingdom - Convergence - Triple Play and Digital TV provides regularly updated statistics as well as further commentary and analysis on new market developments.

Table of Contents

• 1. Synopsis
• 2. Convergence
  • 2.1 Overview of media convergence
  • 2.2 Key general trends
  • 2.3 Digital media
    • 2.3.1 Business models – bundled offers
  • 2.4 Regulator issues
    • 2.4.1 Ofcom
    • 2.4.2 Digital Dividend Review
    • 2.4.3 Releasing dividend spectrum
    • 2.4.4 DTTV pay services
    • 2.4.5 Digital switchover licensing
• 3. Digital TV (DTV)
  • 3.1 Broadband TV (IPTV)
    • 3.1.1 BT Vision
    • 3.1.2 BBC
    • 3.1.3 BSkyB
    • 3.1.4 Freeview
    • 3.1.5 Virgin Media
    • 3.1.6 Tiscali TV
    • 3.1.7 Other developments
  • 3.2 Cable TV
    • 3.2.1 Virgin Media
  • 3.3 Satellite TV
    • 3.3.1 Ofcom pay-TV market review
    • 3.3.2 BSkyB
    • 3.3.3 Freesat from Sky
    • 3.3.4 freesat from the BBC
  • 3.4 Digital Terrestrial TV
    • 3.4.1 Set-top Boxes (STBs)
    • 3.4.2 Personal Video Recorders (PVRs)
    • 3.4.3 BBC
    • 3.4.4 Freeview
    • 3.4.5 BSkyB
    • 3.4.6 Virgin Media
  • 3.5 Video-on-Demand (VoD)
    • 3.5.1 Virgin Media
    • 3.5.2 BBC
    • 3.5.3 ITV
    • 3.5.4 Other developments
  • 3.6 VoIP
    • 3.6.1 Regulatory issues
    • 3.6.2 VoIP issues to be addressed
    • 3.6.3 British Telecom
    • 3.6.4 Orange
    • 3.6.5 Global Crossing
    • 3.6.6 Other developments
  • 3.7 Interactive TV
    • 3.7.1 Sample services
    • 3.7.2 ITV on cable
• 4. Related reports

• Table 1 – Availability of digital services (UK) – 2008 - 2009
• Table 2 – Adoption of services – Q1 2009 – Q1 2010
• Table 3 – Proportion of bundled services by type – 2007 - 2010
• Table 4 – Statistical overview of the digital TV market – 2007 - 2010
• Table 5 – Market share of TV homes by platform (primary sets) – 2005 - 2010
• Table 6 – Digital TV uptake, share of main TV sets – 2006 - 2010
• Table 7 – HD broadcast homes – 2008 - 2010
• Table 8 – Reach of catch-up IPTV platforms – 2008 - 2010
• Table 9 – BT Vision subscribers – 2007 - 2010
• Table 10 – Virgin Media subscribers by sector – 2007 - 2010
• Table 11 – Virgin Media revenue by sector – 2005 - 2009
• Table 12 – Free-to-view satellite households - 2003 - 2010
• Table 13 – BSkyB subscriber statistics - 2006 - 2009
• Table 14 – BSkyB revenue, operating profit and annual change - 2007 - 2009
• Table 15 – DTTV equipment sales – 2006 - 2010
• Table 16 – Cumulative DTTV equipment sales – 2006 - 2010
• Table 17 – Virgin Media VoD use – 2007 - 2009
• Table 18 – Virgin Media V+ base – 2008 - 2009

• Exhibit 1 – Overview of media convergence
• Exhibit 2 – Technology developments in bundled services – 2010