PlayTV UK aims for 50,000 subs within year

PlayTV UK has formally announced the launch of its consumer IPTV service and said it aims to have distributed 50,000 set-top boxes within a year.

Jim Deans, co-founder of Global Digital Broadcast, which has been developing the service, said in a statement: "Finally, after four years of hard work, IPTV is now looking like it is supposed to. Our platform facilitates niche, small and independent channels to sit alongside the major broadcasters and, with our extensive sports offerings, it allows Rangers FC to sit alongside Accrington Stanley. This is what we have wanted all along – to provide a platform that can be used by everyone."

The company also confirmed which channels would be available on the service. A basic triple-play package includes the full public service broadcaster channel groups with timeshifts, Sky Three and Sky News, Virgin 1, UK History, Dave, The Hits, TMF, UK Entertainment, Teachers TV, the Community Channel, QVC, Price Drop TV, Bid TV, Ideal World, LBC, STV, Nuts TV and Smile TV.

A package called Play Entertainment and Family adds Discovery, MTV, VH1, Nickleodeon and Cartoon Network services and several others; and Play Movies offers TCM, TCM2 and Sixty 6 Films. Numerous sport channels are available with a Play Sports package and Setanta package, and Play World offers foreign language programming.

"Many niche and community/local IPTV channels are also available on the platform, including TV Brighton, TV Luton, TV Chichester, TV Christchurch and channel 1066; with numerous acquisitions, including a dedicated football channel which plays host to independent football clubs’ own TV offerings, are being added on a continuous basis," said the statement yesterday.

"PlayTV UK’s set-top box service is currently rolling out, with 1,000 set-top boxes in the UK marketplace at the time of writing and ongoing figures standing at 10,000 within six months and 50,000 within the next year."

The company began marketing in the UK in July last year.