LONDON -(Dow Jones)- British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC isn't immediately planning to offer mobile phones as part of its product range, a senior executive said Tuesday.
"We don't feel the need to develop a separate mobile revenue stream," Jeremy Darroch, chief financial officer of BSkyB, in which News Corp. is a 36.6% holder, told an investor conference in New York Tuesday.
"It's something we will watch but we think, with the acquisition of Easynet, we have an infrastructure that's going to allow us to launch a compelling range of products and services," Darroch said.
Darroch was responding to questions about the planned merger, unveiled this week, between U.K. cable company NTL and Virgin Mobile Holdings (U.K.) PLC. The merged entity would be the first U.K. company to offer mobile, broadband, fixed-line and television services from the same provider.
BSkyB's shares closed Monday down 14 pence, or 2.8%, at 492 pence, after NTL announced it had approached Virgin Mobile with an offer for the company at 323 pence per share. Under the terms of the deal, Virgin Mobile's 72% holder Virgin Group, controlled by U.K. entrepreneur Richard Branson, would take a stake in NTL.
Questioned on the impact of the proposed deal, Darroch pointed to a joint marketing agreement BSkyB signed recently with Vodafone Group PLC, allowing BSkyB content to be accessed over mobile phones.
"It didn't particularly surprise us that NTL felt the need to move their branding on from NTL and Telewest -the U.K. cable company NTL said it would buy in October and is currently waiting approval for -given the issues that historically dogged them," he said. "I don't think fundamentally this changes the competitive landscape."
NTL said Monday that if the acquisition of Virgin Mobile goes through, it would rebrand its own cable TV service, Virgin.
Darroch added the demographic profile of Virgin Mobile customers, who are typically low value and pay for calls upfront, stood in contrast to BSkyB's "high value" customers.
Separately, Darroch confirmed that BSkyB planned to launch voice over internet products during 2007.
His remarks followed analysts' questions about the company's plans for Easynet PLC, the U.K. Internet provider, which BSkyB said it would buy in November for GBP211 million.
"Our product offering will continue to develop quickly over the next couple of years," Darroch said. "In 2007 we will integrate our Internet protocol delivered video on demand offering as well as a true voice over Internet protocol product."
He added: "We feel having control over some key parts of the (local loop unbundled) network is important." Local loop unbundlers operate the last mile of copper cable between the telephone exchange and the customer.
Company Web site: http://www.sky.com/corporate
-By Jessica Hodgson, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 207 842 9293 jessica.hodgson@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires "
Posted to the site on 7th December 2005
Posted to: www.cellular-news.com/story/15144.php