Sunday August 9, 2009
Virgin Media to push content to mobile devices
UK cable operator Virgin Media - owner of the country's largest MVNO, Virgin Mobile UK - is to launch a mobile video-on-demand service and a new BlackBerry-style email device in a bid to more closely align its mobile and cable TV businesses. In an interview with The Guardian today, Graeme Oxby, Virgin Mobile's managing director, said the strategy is aimed at making content at Virgin Media's set-top box and broadband portal more available on its mobile devices. "We are finally getting ready for the bigger push around what we think is the next big step," he said. "What we call the 'third screen'. We have customers using fast broadband and customers watching TV. How do we bring that to life on the mobile phone?" The strategy it also aimed at persuading more Virgin Mobile customers to sign-up to contract plans, rather than being a provider of pay-as-you-go phones.
In Virgin Media's second-quarter results, announced today, the firm notes that it had 784,600 contract mobile customers in 2Q09, representing 24 percent of total mobile customers, and growth of 60 percent over the last 12 months. Contract net additions in the quarter were 72,300 compared to 62,900 in 1Q09 and 55,900 a year ago. However, mobile revenues in the quarter declined to £127.5 million, down from £143.9 million a year ago. The firm blamed the decline on mobile termination rate reductions and churn in its prepaid subscriber base. Virgin Mobile registered prepaid net disconnections in the quarter of 106,500, an improvement on the previous quarter (138,000) and a year ago (151,600). Overall mobile ARPU for the quarter stood at £12.43. At a group level, Virgin Media reported total revenues of £936 million, compared to £940 million a year ago, and operating income of £15 million, compared to a loss of £328 million a year ago.
