Sky Player to Launch on Cello Connected TV's, 3View Hybrid DTT/IPTV Set-Top Boxes

UK satellite TV operator, BSkyB, announced last week that its Sky Player online TV service (which offers both live and on-demand content from a range of broadcasters) will launch on a number of new Internet-connected TV sets and set-top boxes, as a result of new deals it has signed with Cello, a manufacturer of LCD TV's, and 3View, a provider of hybrid DTT/IPTV set-top boxes. Last year, Cello launched a TV called the iViewer, which, according to BSkyB, was "the UK's first Internet-connected TV that enabled consumers to access Internet-based media directly--without the need for a set-top box, games console or computer." 3View, meanwhile, offers a range of DVR's that combine reception of the UK's free-to-air digital terrestrial service, Freeview, with access to Internet video services. Both companies offer their products through major consumer electronics retailers, and BSkyB says that Sky Player will be available as a pay-TV option on both their platforms.

As with the other platforms--PC, Mac, Windows Media Center, Xbox 360 and FetchTV--on which Sky Player is (or will shortly be) available, existing Sky TV customers will be able to access the service on a bonus basis, based on their core Sky DTH and product subscriptions, while non-Sky customers will be able to sign up for a choice of programming packages offered through the service via monthly subscription, BSkyB says. "The coming together of ground-breaking video services like Sky Player with innovative platforms like Cello and 3View demonstrates the vibrancy of the evolving Internet video-on-demand sector," BSkyB's director of on-demand, Griff Parry, said in a prepared statement. "We will continue to look at opportunities to distribute Sky Player across new platforms, to give consumers even more choice and control over how they access high-quality pay-TV content." Added 3View managing director, John Donovan: "3View combines the latest free TV with fantastic Internet content, so the deal with Sky Player is a perfect fit for us. Sky is using the power of the Internet to deliver quality content in an intelligent and consumer-friendly way. By offering Sky Player on 3View's simple-to-use, broadband-connected set-top box, we are giving Sky access to a whole new market. Not only this, but it provides 3View users with access to a great range of movies, sport and other Sky programs." 

In related news: BSkyB's main pay-TV rival in the UK market, cable operator Virgin Media, is set to launch a Virgin Media Player that will make programming available online and through mobile phones, the company's executive commercial director of TV and online, Alex Green, revealed at the IPTV World Forum in London last week. "We'll be launching this year our player," Green said. "This will deliver a super high-quality click-to-watch experience for our subscribers to see their favorite on-demand shows online and on their mobile. We're determined to get the experience right in terms of viewing quality and usability and we're taking advantage of the way technology has developed in the past couple of years to do that." According to an article in UK trade publication, TechRadar, Green appeared to imply that the new online player would offer HD: "It...allows us to build on our recent slew of HDTV announcements like ITV Eurosport, Discovery, E4, Film 4 and others," he added. "We have a strong HD line-up and our onus is to offer the highest quality experience on-demand on TV, online and on mobile."

Meanwhile, in an interview with UK digital TV enthusiast site, Digital Spy, Virgin Media's head of media relations, Asam Ahmad, has revealed some of the services the operator plans to offer through the exclusive partnership with TiVo that it announced last November (note: the deal calls for TiVo to develop a converged television and broadband interactive interface to power Virgin Media's next-generation HD set-top boxes--for more on the deal, see the article published on itvt.com, November 30th). According to Ahmad, the new Virgin-TiVo platform, which will be based on Adobe Flash, will, among other things, support widgets and advanced social networking features, and will feature "discovery systems" for viewers to access additional online content around programming.