Vodafone Germany announced the official launch of Vodafone TV, which has been in testing on a small scale since 1 December. It's a hybrid service, that can be combined with an existing satellite or analogue cable signal. The launch sees Vodafone competing in Germany with:
- Cable. No box is needed for analogue cable, so no partnership is needed to deliver the signal.
- Satellite. The box is apparently certified, as the Vodafone TV Center can decode the satellite signal.
- Deutsche Telekom, which recently agreed to work on TV with Sky Deutschland (News Corp 49.9%) and also offers its own IPTV service.
- Alice Digital TV (IPTV from Telefonica).
- DVB-T.
The first conclusion is that satellite providers are choosing for maximum exposure with a wholesale strategy. In the digital TV fight, satellite TV has been declared dead several times, as it doesn't support two-way services (needed for eg VoD). While satellite already has a 40 percent share in Germant, becoming part of a hybrid offering gives it a new lease on life.
Vodafone underlines a number of benefits in its service: a lot of HD; customers can keep ther existing linear TV service (often included in the rent); access to VoD (Vodafone Videothek); DLNA for sharing content acress different screens; pausing live TV; a 320 GB hard disk; and a EPG. The Vodafone TV Center also automatically chooses the best reception if a channel can be received from different sources (analoge cable, satellite, IPTV).
No prices have been announced, but it's expected to cost around EUR 52 per month for a triple play (with 16Mbps), with a reduced price of EUR 40 for the first 12 months.
Vodafone is stepping up its ‘Total Communications’ strategy with the launch of TV services in different countries. Emerging markets are also part of the plan. Vodacom in South Africa introduced the Webbox, a keyboard with built-in modem (GPRS/EDGE) that can be connected easily to the TV, although the quality will be limited over a GPRS/EDGE connection. Still, this is not possible with the Vodafone TV Center in Germany.
Three developments can be expected next: the roll-out to other Vodafone countries, such as the Netherlands; bringing internet content to the TV with the new Vodafone TV Center; and adding mobile to the package (quad play). In the current German market, there is a big risk that Vodafone's offer and price do not stand out enough to win significant market share. The question is why the German operator hasn't copied Vodafone Spain, where not a TV Center but an Internet TV Center is sold and bundling with mobile is possible.
