Orange delays plans for IPTV offering

by Tristan O'Carroll, Media Week 06-Nov-08, 10:05

LONDON - Orange's plans to roll out an IPTV service are on hold as the France Telecom-owned operator reviews its plans.

Orange has been trialling IPTV technology with customers in several parts of the country, including London and Leeds. However, the firm is believed to have experienced technical difficulties implementing the service across its fixed-line network.

France Telecom currently operates IPTV services in markets including France, Spain and Poland.

It is understood that, among other deals, Orange has so far signed content deals with Disney-ABC International, which would give IPTV subscribers to the service access to films from Disney, Touchstone, Miramax and MGM.

An Orange spokesperson told Media Week: "Our digital TV trials in the UK have been going well to date and we've gained some valuable feedback from our customers.

"That said, we do believe approaches to offering such a service have moved on since our initial thinking, and we are currently reviewing different business models for accessing such content, including those which play to the strength of our existing mobile and portal platforms."