Deutsche Telekom Starts IPTV Promotion

Deutsche Telekom is offering its Entertain IPTV services is now available free for a two month test and can continue the service for 10 euros per month.

The company plans to add a radio service as part of the basic package and will broadcast Bundesliga soccer games with an interactive component. It will also offer Warner Studios films on demand as soon as they are released on DVD.

Deutsche Telekom has been taking an incremental approach to making its IPTV service more attractive. It would do better to bite the bullet and make a single dramatic move that will catch the market's attention. I think its best approach will be to bundle a basic set of IPTV channels into the broadband service rather than requiring an additional fee.

Comcast to Limit Internet TV

Light Reading published and article describing that Comcast will impose a limit of 250 gigabytes per month starting October 1. This threshold will apply to less than 1 percent of its high speed Internet subscribers, since the median residential usage is 2 to 3 Gbytes per month.

This limit seems reasonable for the web browser, even the person who uses a lot of Youtube. However, this limit will permit only about 2 hours a day of HD TV viewing. This means that Comcast is limiting the ability of its high speed data to access over the top TV services that compete with its cable service. This seems to me to be anti competitive. It will be interesting to see how the FCC reacts to this, especially as Internet TV becomes more popular.

Chunghwa Telecom Adds 73K IPTV Subscribers in 2Q08

Chunghwa Telecom, the incumbent carrier in Taiwan, added 73 thousand IPTV subscribers to its MOD service ending the quarter with 508 thousand.

Chunghwa stated that its coverage of the Olympics significantly increased the viewing of its IPTV service:

• The maximum number of households viewing its IPTV service increased by a factor of 1.6 compared to before the Games.
• IPTV video on demand views were 3.3 times higher and Internet page views were 11.3 times higher compared to before the Games.
• The number of video clips viewed, page views and traffic over its mobile portal “emome”
  were 15.8, 10, and 10 times times higher, respectively, compared to before the
  Games.

Chunghwa also added 148 thousand FTTB subscribers in the quarter, giving it a total about 800 thousand. It stated that 32.1 percent of its ADSL and FTTx subscribers have speeds greater than 8 Mbps.

Chunghwa continues to grow its IPTV service at a rate of at least 20o thousand new subscribers per year. Its Olympics experience shows the power of a big event in bringing viewers to the service.

Free's Has 2.9 million VOD Views in 1H08

Free released detailed information on its 1H08 results. There was no change to the information in my previous post. It did announce that it had 2.883 million video on demand and subscription video on demand views during the half compared to 1.874 million in the same period in 2007.

There were a few additional facts of interest:

• Its ARPU remained flat at 36.3 euros per month during the half.
• The percentage of its customers using Free as their only telecom provider increased to 71 percent at the end of June 2008 from 64 percent at the end of 2007.

Free's analysis is that Free, Alice, and France Telecom increased their broadband market share in 1H08 while Neuf Cegetel's share reduced. Free's broadband market share after its acquisition of Alice will be 25.5 percent. France Telecom had 49.6 percent and Neuf Cegetel had 23.8 percent.

Free is one of the most interesting broadband and IPTV companies around. It is worth taking a look at its presentation and report for the half.

Free Acquires Alice France

Iliad, the parent of the French broadband provider Free, has completed its acquisition of Alice France for 775 million euros. This price reflects:

• A portfolio of about 850 thousand active subscribers
• Loss carry forwards which will generate a tax savings of 350 million euros for Iliad
• Cash and equivalents of 15 million euros

Free stated that this acquisition would return it to the position of the leading competitive broadband provider in France with about 4 million subscribers and a 25.5 percent market share.

This acquisition puts Free ahead of Neuf Cegetel, which achieved the leading position through a series of acquisitions. Free has set the standard offering for broadband in France with a complete triple play offering of 29.99 euros per month.

Frees next challenge is how to enter the mobile market. Both France Telecom's Orange and Neuf Cegetel's parent company SFR are major mobile operators in France.

PCCW adds 45K IPTV Subscribers in 1H08

PCCW, the incumbent Telco in Hong Kong, added 45 thousand IPTV subscribers in 1H08, ending the half with 927 thousand nowTV subscribers. It hat 932 thousand subscribers at the end of July 2008.

This includes 40 thousand new premium viewers giving it 668 thousand subscribers that are paying for premium services. This has increased its nowTV ARPU to $US27 per month.

PCCW provides 160 channels with 85 exclusive channels. It also offers an HD set-t0p box that provides access to the digital terrestrial HD channels. It also supports a second set-top box to its premium service subscribers.

PCCW's fixed line business has actually been flat or has increased since 2H05.

PCCW continues strong IPTV growth. Larger companies such as Verizon and France Telecom have surpassed it in terms of the number of subscribers, but it is the clear leader in terms of market penetration. It is also the leader in terms of business and content strategy. It has demonstrated how to turn a free service into a significant revenue generator.

Telekom Austria adds 10.5K IPTV Subscribers 2Q08

Telekom Austria added 10.5 thousand IPTV subscribers to its Aon TV IPTV service in 2Q08, ending with 49.1 thousand subscribers. Its broadband market share was 33.5 percent at the end of the quarter.

Telekom Austria is now fully into a commercial phase with its IPTV service. It has substantial competition and its TV service should help it.