BT Vision inches forward

In 2010, telco TV operators may increasingly face a new reality: Keep the faith in the ability of IPTV/RFTV/satellite TV offerings to continue gaining new customers, while keeping a close eye on fledgling online TV experiments. That's what U.K. telco BT may be doing after a strong fiscal third quarter (the last three calendar months of 2009) showing by its BT Vision IPTV service that comes just after the Project Canvas hybrid venture made significant regulatory progress. BT, of course, is one of the parties involved in Canvas.

BT Vision had as difficult a year in 2009 as any telco TV service has had thus far, opening last year having to defend itself against criticisms about slow acceptance and later losing its CEO, then having to re-adjust its expectations for IPTV growth. In the final few months of 2009, BT Vision displayed at least modest growth potential by adding 15,000 customers, for a total base of just over 450,000 subscribers.

Meanwhile, the BBC Trust finally gave Canvas initial approval in the final month of 2009, so it will be interesting to see whether BT still keeps the faith in its IPTV offering if the hybrid project finds major acceptance.

For more:
- Broadband TV News has this report

Related articles
BT Vision faced an uphill battle in 2009
The BBC Trust provisionally approved Canvas