Virgin Media is looking to push improved broadband speeds rather than premium TV services. In an interview with The Guardian acting chief executive Neil Berkett says he wants to shift the focus towards mass market households who do not need premium sports and movies, but who want more than the basic line-up offered by DTT. New Zealander Berkett is increasingly tipped to retain the chief executive roll on a permanent basis.
Virgin has been testing broadband speeds of 50 Mbps and earlier this month announced it would carry Voom’s HD service direct to high-speed broadband customers. The inference from the Guardian interview is that Virgin is looking for similar deals.
Berkett says broadband offers from Sky and Carphone Warehouse have commoditised the service and “there is a rebalancing to be done”.
As DTH operators offered customers personal video recorders, cable stuck to the marketing of broadband services, which they found more lucrative. Recent months have seen cable operators in continental Europe focus more on the entertainment aspects of their services.