Tiscali TV on verge of 50% UK coverage

Tiscali TV will be available to 50% of UK homes by the summer, the company has told Digital Spy.

It has been equipping phone exchanges around the UK for the TV-over-DSL service since last spring and now claims almost the same level of coverage as Virgin Media, which no longer spends capital on expanding its footprint. Tiscali's coverage is spread across the UK though currently remains strongest in London and the Midlands.

Executives said the company's rapid expansion plan was on track. It is adding about 250 subscribers a day and aims to have 200,000 by the end of the year. It stepped up press advertising in January and in recent days has begun a television campaign for Tiscali TV. It has also now launched a new PVR, Tiscali+, which stores 50 hours of video and integrates one DSL "tuner" with two digital terrestrial tuners. It is available to all TV customers for a one-off fee of £50 or £5 per month.

Steve Horley, managing director of products and marketing, also announced the company was looking at how to best extend its TV coverage towards 100%. It is considering installing its own DSL equipment in more exchanges around the country at a cost of tens of millions of pounds, or using a digital terrestrial hybrid system similar to that used by BT Vision. Horley admitted, however, that the latter option would mean compromising on its commitment to a close integration of linear television and video on demand.

Jonathan Sykes, managing director of content strategy, said he believed making content accessible by integrating on demand and linear viewing options in Tiscali's programme guide was crucial. He said: "We really believe linear and VOD together is the future."

The company said its coverage and competitive prices would see it competing strongly with Virgin and Sky.

Tiscali's other plans for the future include more browser-based elements on its EPG and rolling out ADSL2.