Tech
Homechoice will rebrand as Tiscali TV on March 1 ahead of a nationwide roll-out of the TV-over-DSL service.
Tiscali acquired Homechoice, which is currently available in London and Stevenage, in August 2006. Homechoice has around 40,000 customers, all of whom will become Tiscali TV customers on March 1.
Tiscali TV's basic package will cost £14.99 and will bundle broadband with a basic TV package of 30 channels. Sky One will not be available in the basic pack, but a catch-up TV service for BBC channels and a further 100 hours of on-demand programming including US imports will be included.
A "big pack", which adds 25 more channels and more on-demand content, will also be available as will a £19.99 triple-play package of broadband, TV channels and free weekend phone calls. Tiscali plans to position the triple-play option as an alternative to the starter bundles offered by Sky and Virgin Media.
Tiscali is also planning to roll the service out beyond its current boundaries. Birmingham, Edinburgh and Newcastle will be added to the coverage area during April and May, with Leeds, Sheffield and Liverpool to follow shortly after. The company has said that by the end of the year over 10m homes will be covered by its service footprint and by the end of 2008, the service will be available in Tiscali's entire unbundled local loop network area.
A new set-top-box will be launched in July. Sporting a 160GB hard-drive, the new Tiscali PVR will also be HD capable.
"Tiscali TV will give our subscribers real value for money, choice and flexibility – things that are core to our brand values," said Tiscali UK CEO Mary Turner. "We believe there is a real gap in the market for our TV product. The success of Freeview has shown that customers want more than five channels but don’t necessarily want to pay a high monthly subscription. Our TV service gives customers broadband plus the channel choice they want and free on-demand programming, all for the price you would pay for a standard broadband connection."
Tiscali acquired Homechoice, which is currently available in London and Stevenage, in August 2006. Homechoice has around 40,000 customers, all of whom will become Tiscali TV customers on March 1.
Tiscali TV's basic package will cost £14.99 and will bundle broadband with a basic TV package of 30 channels. Sky One will not be available in the basic pack, but a catch-up TV service for BBC channels and a further 100 hours of on-demand programming including US imports will be included.
A "big pack", which adds 25 more channels and more on-demand content, will also be available as will a £19.99 triple-play package of broadband, TV channels and free weekend phone calls. Tiscali plans to position the triple-play option as an alternative to the starter bundles offered by Sky and Virgin Media.
Tiscali is also planning to roll the service out beyond its current boundaries. Birmingham, Edinburgh and Newcastle will be added to the coverage area during April and May, with Leeds, Sheffield and Liverpool to follow shortly after. The company has said that by the end of the year over 10m homes will be covered by its service footprint and by the end of 2008, the service will be available in Tiscali's entire unbundled local loop network area.
A new set-top-box will be launched in July. Sporting a 160GB hard-drive, the new Tiscali PVR will also be HD capable.
"Tiscali TV will give our subscribers real value for money, choice and flexibility – things that are core to our brand values," said Tiscali UK CEO Mary Turner. "We believe there is a real gap in the market for our TV product. The success of Freeview has shown that customers want more than five channels but don’t necessarily want to pay a high monthly subscription. Our TV service gives customers broadband plus the channel choice they want and free on-demand programming, all for the price you would pay for a standard broadband connection."
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