CABLE CONGRESS 2008 – MADRID. Virgin Media’s VOD service had 38 million views in March, according to Kevin O’Neil, the company’s head of on demand.
Speaking at a session dedicated to on demand at the Cable Congress in Madrid, he added that the UK cable operator has had 300 million VOD views to date and that around 50% of its subscribers use the on demand service each month.
Peter Haggart, the SVP Chello On Demand, Chellomedia services, meanwhile said that the experience of VOD, which is much more developed in the US than in Europe, had reduced the churn experienced by operators by between 30-60%.
In Europe, the provision of cable VOD can only be described as “good to fair” in the Benelux countries, Spain and UK. Israel, where HOT is particularly active in the provision of on demand services, falls into the same category.
The picture shows UPC billboard in Amsterdam promoting VOD (picture courtesy Frankwatching)