Virgin Media O2’s Chief TV & Entertainment Officer has explained how the pay-TV platform is handling the flatlining within the sector.David Bouchier reminded delegates to Connected TV World Summit in London that Virgin was in 2013 the first pay-TV platform globally to integrate Netflix directly into its platform. He went on to explain how by integrating the Top 5 streaming services, the company was able to account for 90% of the streaming market.According to Bouchier, for audiences aged 35 and over, free-TV was still the driver, comfortable with linear television and appointment to view, but increasing enamoured with SVOD. For younger audiences, it was, almost a 180 degree turn.Like so many operators the answer lies with sport and Virgin’s contracts with the UK’s major providers, Sky Sports and TNT Sports.“How we take that to the next level is by adding in the must have SVODs that form in many households a more compelling proposition for content and for series and for films than our traditional pay-TV providers have done… put them together with the best sport and that is a really, really unique place for us in the market here,” said Bouchier.Value for money is also a key factor, offering 30-day contracts, but also much longer periods than has previously been the case. “The longer you stay with us, and the model comes from our mobile business, whether that’s a 12, 24, 36 month contract, that benefit will also drive the content value for money proposition.”Then there is YouTube, which has been added to Virgin’s search function, so when you search for any topic or, or star or title, it brings up a YouTube search too. The video platform now vies for position with BBC iPlayer as the most used apps on its set-top boxes.FAST channels have been added, to offer more customer value, but also to fill the holes in the EPG left by the departures of linear services from Disney and Fox, which Bouchier says led to a decline in the amount of usage in the EPG.“That’s what FAST has repaired. We took the decision that had technical and regulatory complications, but we took the decision that it had to sit in our EPG and our FAST channels do that. We also heard about the importance of regional content, local appeal. We are not going for volume. We don’t need a volume of kind of faceless international channels,” said Bouchier.The intention is to maintain a smaller proposition of FAST channels. At the moment this is in the early 30s with the intention of capping at 50. “We’re fortunate with being an English language territory that we have a lot of library from UK producers who produce a lot of programming now and have very well-known program brands that are able to create very powerful thematic FAST channels for us.”Subscribers can create their own bundles as part of the Flex package, though in reality about 80% take one of the recommended bundles.Later this year Virgin will complete the move from QAM broadcast to IP transmission, bringing in small form factor setup boxes, with bookmarking in the cloud replacing hard drives. Bouchier says the big change will come in the install experience. “There is no longer a need to have that cable running around the house if you want more than one set top box. It allows us to be as kind of nimble as the S watts themselves and connect to a TV wherever it is in the home using again a great install experience that we have with Virgin Media where our engineers will ensure that your broadband travels around the home.”There are also expansions in the overall offer, another mobile trick, adding fitness, books and magazines and technology to extend customer relationships into new core areas.
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