Belgacom TV will start to stream live Jupiler League football matches and highlights to mobile phones, PCs and smart devices with HTTP streaming on October 1st. The operator has undertaken a phased deployment of Nokia Siemens Networks’ Ubiquity Multiscreen TV Platform.
The IPTV operator will make its dedicated football channel Belgacom 11 available on PV and mobile, also to people who do not buy their IPTV service, who can choose to watch individual games for EUR 3.49 each.
At a later stage, in December 2010, people with an IPTV connection will be able to see the full Belgacom TV offer also on their PC for an additional EUR 3.50 a month. At that time, viewers will also be able to programme their PVR remotely, either from a computer or using their GSM.
In November, Belgacom TV will launch its Video-on-demand service on PC, which will be available to all Belgians, not only to Belgacom TV customers. Initially, around 200 movies will be available for rental at the same price as IPTV customers, between EUR 2 and EUR 5 per title for a 24 hour viewing window.
“We have been providing IPTV services for the last five years, and it is now time for us to raise the bar on TV viewing experience,” said Michel Georgis, executive VP, head of consumer business unit at Belgacom, in a statement. “Considering the popularity of football in the country, we felt that there could be no better content to start with than the Jupiler League football. With the introduction of multi-screen TV services in the country next year, we aim to place greater control in our viewers’ hands over the choices of TV content and devices on which to access their preferred content.”
“With quad-play emerging as the new battlefield, the Belgian market is going through an immense change. Operators can differentiate themselves in this area by enabling access to content across a range of devices and access technologies,” said Filip Rommelaere, customer team head for the Belgacom Group at Nokia Siemens Networks. “Our Ubiquity TV Multiscreen Platform will allow Belgacom to go one step further with integration of third-party applications for a more personalized service delivery. In addition, with the integrated digital rights management our solution protects premium content across all the different devices and access technologies.”
In the initial phase, Nokia Siemens Networks has supplied encoders and streamers to enable Belgacom subscribers to watch Jupiler League matches on their PCs and smart devices. In addition, it has provided integration services to incorporate these products into the IPTV solution.
Belgacom already serves over 850,000 IPTV subscribers in the country.