BT plans overhaul of pay-TV brand

The second generation of YouView boxes will allow BT to provide its pay-TV services through the platform and BT plans to stop selling its BT Vision boxes at that stage. However, a launch date for the new box has yet to emerge.

In an interview with Campaign this week, YouView's chief executive, Richard Halton, said BT plans to phase out BT Vision boxes in favour of YouView. However, sources close to BT insisted that no firm decision has been made on scrapping the brand itself.

Industry sources believed that, although getting rid of the BT Vision brand is one option, it could live on within the BT area of the YouView EPG.

Since its launch at the end of 2006, BT has spent millions of pounds on marketing to support BT Vision but, despite the addition of Sky Sports 1 and 2 in 2010, the service had just 728,000 subscribers by the end of June.

However, in June, BT captured a chunk of the Premier League football rights from the 2013/14 season in a move to boost subscriber numbers.

BT will offer YouView to customers as part of broadband packages from next month, but the current generation of boxes do not allow the platform's partners or third parties to retail pay-TV.

A spokesman for BT declined to comment.

This article was first published on campaignlive.co.uk