TVPlayer To Launch Over-The-Top Pay TV Service
Including top channels from UKTV, Discovery Networks, A+E Networks UK, Turner Broadcasting, National Geographic Channel Europe & Sony Pictures Television Networks from only £4.99 per month
London(02 Jul 2015)
TVPlayer, the UK’s fastest-growing over-the-top television platform, announced today that it will launch TVPlayer Plus, a subscription service this summer.
TVPlayer Plus will be priced from £4.99 per month (with no contract) and enables live streaming of 25+ premium television channels, including Lifetime®, HISTORY®, H2®, Crime + Investigation, Gold, Alibi, Watch, Good Food, Eden, Home, Discovery Channel, TLC, ID (Investigation Discovery), Animal Planet, Discovery Turbo, British Eurosport, British Eurosport 2, National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo WILD, Sony Entertainment Television, Sony Movie Channel, Boomerang, Cartoon Network, Cartooonito and BabyTV. Additional channels are expected to be announced.
The current TVPlayer service, which offers over 55 free-to-air channels and has over 500,000 regular users, will remain free of charge, although TVPlayer Plus subscribers will benefit from an enhanced viewing experience.
TVPlayer is already available on iOS, Android, Amazon Fire TV, Mac and PC. Additional devices available at the launch of TVPlayer Plus will include selected Smart TVs, the Amazon Fire TV Stick and Google Chromecast. TVPlayer expects to announce its availability on additional internet-connected devices later in the year, including on a prominent games console. An app for Windows Phone is also in development. UKTV channels will be limited to iOS, Android and PC.
Live video streaming is the fastest growing element of Over-The-Top (OTT) services according to the 4Q2014 FreeWheel Video Monetisation report. In addition, video ad views on first run series are up 67% yoy, whilst viewership amongst millennials on traditional TVs, shows signs of decline, as measured by Nielsen. TVPlayer is the first major OTT platform in the UK to combine an ad-supported basic pack with optional pay packs, with over 100 channels in total. TVPlayer is therefore expected to be a major beneficiary of the roll-out of US trends in the UK.
Adam Smith, Founder and CEO of Simplestream, the company behind TVPlayer, said, “TVPlayer has seen significant success to date with over half a million people now watching TV over-the-top each week on our service. Similar to what Netflix has done for movies and Spotify for music, TVPlayer Plus aims to offer a simplified viewing experience of traditional and premium television content; one which works with the devices you already have and lets you pause, modify or cancel your subscription whenever you like.”
In addition to live TV, TVPlayer Plus includes extensive catch-up functionality from selected channels allowing both subscribers and non-subscribers to view a selection of the best programmes from the previous 7 days. Around 100 hours a week of catch-up will be initially available to TVPlayer Plus subscribers from Lifetime®, HISTORY®, H2®, Crime + Investigation, Discovery Channel, TLC, ID (Investigation Discovery), Animal Planet, Discovery Turbo, British Eurosport, British Eurosport 2, National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo WILD, Sony Entertainment Television, Boomerang, Cartoon Network, Cartooonito and BabyTV. In addition, the “plus one” channels will be offered. TVPlayer Plus will launch with one channel pack, with multiple genre-based channel packs to be made available later in the year.
TVPlayer, which is owned and operated by Simplestream, a leading provider of live streaming services to the broadcast industry, is designed to replicate the traditional television viewing experience on any internet-connected device. Utilising the latest adaptive bitrate streaming and content protection technologies, TVPlayer Plus channels can be viewed almost anywhere in the UK where a fixed, Wifi or mobile broadband connection is available, including on both 3G and 4G.
TVPlayer Plus is targeted at two distinct groups; Millennials and ‘Pay TV Holdouts’. The former has often never subscribed to a paid television service because they have not been in the position to do so. In contrast, the holdouts have consciously made the decision not to subscribe to pay tv before. Many have children and subscribe to online services such as Netflix to supplement their core free-to-air viewing. In both cases, TVPlayer Plus aims to attract customers by offering over 100 channels on a single platform at an attractive price point.
Existing users of TVPlayer can pre-register for a one-month trial of TVPlayer Plus at http://plus.tvplayer.comfrom today.
Notes to Editors
TVPlayer can be watched for free at tvplayer.com, by downloading the free TVPlayer apps from the App Store, Google Play and Amazon Appstore and via channel 241 on Freeview. To book a private demonstration or arrange an interview with a member of the Senior Management team, please contact Marie Ellis.
About TVPlayer:
TVPlayer is a free OTT platform available in the UK, which streams live TV across multiple devices from some of the UK’s favourite free-to-air broadcasters. Launched in December 2013, TVPlayer is one of the fastest growing platforms in the UK, with over 55 channels spanning Entertainment, Kids, News, Music, Desi and Lifestyle. TVPlayer is owned and operated by Simplestream, a leading provider of live streaming and Live-2-VOD solutions to broadcast and media companies. The TVPlayer platform is available on a white-label basis both in the UK and internationally.
About UKTV
UKTV is the multi-award winning media company that reaches over 42 million viewers every month.
UKTV's eleven imaginative brands - UKTV Play, Dave, Watch, Gold, Alibi, Yesterday, Drama, Really, Home, Eden and Good Food - include the most popular non-PSB channel in the UK and account for 9% of the British commercial TV market. The company’s most recent financial results showed record-breaking year–end revenue of £278m, and EBITDA of £67.4m. It invested a record £125m in programming and related launches last year, and is becoming an increasingly significant investor in UK creativity.
UKTV has a truly innovative model, curating brand-defining commissions, high-profile acquisitions and the very best of BBC, alongside programmes originally shown on ITV and Channel 4. The network embraces technology to deliver inspired channels to audiences through Freeview, Sky, Virgin Media, BT, TalkTalk, YouView and UKTV Play, and distributes its highly valued original programmes to 200 territories.
Now celebrating its 22nd year at the forefront of digital television, UKTV - an independent commercial joint venture between BBC Worldwide and Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. (SNI) - is proud to be the only British television broadcaster to be recognised by Best Companies.
About A+E Networks® UK:
A+E Networks UK, a joint venture between A+E Networks® and Sky, is a broadcaster representing a portfolio of high-quality, ground-breaking factual and entertainment channels including HISTORY®, HISTORY®HD, Lifetime®, Lifetime® HD, Crime + Investigation™,Crime + Investigation™ HD and H2®. A+E Networks® UK launched in November 1995, and has channels available in 90 countries across the UK, Scandinavia, Benelux, Central & Eastern Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, and is available in more than 85 million homes and in 19 languages.
About Discovery:
Discovery (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) is the world’s #1 pay-TV programmer reaching nearly 3 billion cumulative subscribers in more than 220 countries and territories. For 30 years Discovery has been dedicated to satisfying curiosity and entertaining viewers with high-quality content through its global television brands, led by Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Investigation Discovery, Science and Turbo/Velocity, as well as U.S. joint venture network OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network. Discovery controls Eurosport, the leading pan-regional sports entertainment destination across Europe and Asia-Pacific. Discovery also is a leading provider of educational products and services to schools, including an award-winning series of K-12 digital textbooks, through Discovery Education, and a digital leader with a diversified online portfolio, including Discovery Digital Networks. For more information, please visit www.discoverycommunications.com.
About Sony:
Sony Pictures Television (http://www.sonypicturestelevision.com), a Sony Pictures Entertainment company, is one of the television industry’s leading content providers, producing and distributing programming worldwide in every genre and for every platform. In addition to one of the industry’s largest libraries of award-winning feature films, television shows and formats, Sony Pictures Television (SPT) boasts a current program slate that includes top-rated daytime dramas and game shows, landmark off-network series, original animated series and critically acclaimed primetime dramas, comedies and telefilms. In addition to its US production business, SPT has 19 wholly-owned or joint venture production companies in 13 countries and also maintains offices in 31 countries. SPT’s worldwide television networks portfolio includes 148 channel feeds available in 178 countries, reaching more than 1.2 billion cumulative households worldwide. SPT also creates original content for and manages the studio’s premium video website, Crackle. Additionally, SPT owns US production company Embassy Row and is a part owner of cable channel Game Show Network (GSN) and national U.S media sales company ITN Networks, Inc. SPT advertiser sales is one of the premier national advertising sales companies and handles the commercial inventory in SPT’s syndicated series as well as the Rural Media Group and DoctorOz.com.
About Turner Broadcasting:
Turner Broadcasting System currently broadcasts 76 channels showcasing 18 brands in 23 languages to 125 countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Leading brands include CNN International, Cartoon Network, Boomerang, Cartoonito, Boing, TNT, TCM and Glitz. Committed to innovation and development, its brands are available to audiences across the EMEA region via the web, VOD, DVD, gaming, mobile, merchandising, publishing or emerging platforms. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc, (TBS) is a Time Warner company.
About National Geographic Channels International
National Geographic Channels International (NGCI) inspires viewers through its smart, innovative programming that questions what we know, how we view the world and what drives us forward. A business enterprise owned by National Geographic Ventures and FOX Entertainment Group, NGCI contributes to the National Geographic Society's commitment to exploration, conservation and education through its various channels: National Geographic Channel, National Geographic Channel HD, Nat Geo Wild, Nat Geo Wild HD, Nat Geo People and Nat Geo Mundo. Globally, National Geographic Channel (including NGC U.S., which is a joint venture of NGV and Fox Cable Networks Group) is available in more than 440 million homes in 171 countries and 45 languages. For more information, please visit www.natgeotv.com.About BabyTV
BabyTV is the world’s leading baby and toddler network from FOX International Channels, airing 24 hours a day and completely commercial free. BabyTV is available globally in over 100 countries, via 700+ platforms and in 19 languages. BabyTV features top quality, original & exclusive shows, created by child development experts and designed for child & parent to enjoy together. Each hour on BabyTV is an enriching journey full of stories, songs, rhymes & loveable characters.
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Media Enquiries:
Marie Ellis, Head of Marketing & PR, TVPlayer
E: marie.ellis@tvplayer.com | T: +44 (0)7780 995080
Additionally for further information and media enquiries please contact Alfred:
Lauren Goddard/ lauren.Goddard@alfredlondon.com / 0207 0336 575
Holly Legg/ holly@alfredlondon.com/ 0207 0336 578