Pay TV and Broadband Combo Proves Unattractive for Many UK Consumers

Does offering a Pay TV service make your home broadband ISP more attractive? The latest poll of 821 ISPreview.co.uk readers found that 67.7% of respondents would be unlikely to stick with their current Internet provider just because it could also offer a decent and affordable Pay TV service (15.4% answered “maybe” and 16.8% said “yes” they would be more likely to stay).

But one other reason for the lack of interest might be because 39.5% of respondents already subscribe to some form of paid TV service (it’s always harder to attract customers away from rivals) and 71.6% noted that their current broadband ISP also already offers a TV product.

Do you subscribe to any form of paid TV service?
No – 60.4%
Yes – 39.5%

Does your current ISP offer a TV package or content?
Yes – 71.6%
No – 28.3%

Would the addition of an attractive / affordable TV service make you more likely to stick with your current broadband ISP?
No – 67.7%
Yes – 16.8%
Maybe – 15.4%

Broadband providers like TalkTalk and BT have spent big and fought hard to carve out a modest slice of the established UK Pay TV market, which until recently was largely dominated by Virgin Media and BSkyB (Sky Broadband). So far that approach, aside from BT’s offer of free sport content, hasn’t completely reshaped the market (except in terms of sporting rights etc.), but it certainly has helped the two new entrants to hold on to their existing customers and grow.

The survey also hints that interest in pay TV could be somewhat of a finite commodity. Meanwhile the availability of alternative products, such as Netflix, NOW TV and Amazon Prime Instant, has opened up a range of possibilities that do not strictly require you to pick a specific ISP in order to enjoy content at a good price. Some providers are already harnessing this new medium but many still fail to separate it from the big and bulky set-top-boxes of old.

Meanwhile this month’s new survey queries what kind of impact it would have if your home broadband provider also began offering a mobile phone service? Vote Here.