Virgin Media 'to launch VOD player'

Friday, March 26 2010, 13:07 GMT

By Andrew Laughlin,

Virgin Media has reportedly confirmed plans to launch a multi-platform video on-demand player by the end of 2010 to rival BBC iPlayer and Sky Player.

Speaking at the IPTV World Forum in London, Virgin Media's executive director of TV and online Alex Green revealed that the service, called Virgin Media Player, will give access to a range of content via online and mobile devices.

"We'll be launching this year our player. This will deliver a super high-quality click-to-watch experience for our subscribers to see their favourite on-demand shows online and on their mobile," he told Tech Radar.

"We're determined to get the experience right in terms of viewing quality and usability and we're taking advantage of the way technology has developed in the past couple of years to do that."

Green also mooted the possibility that Virgin Media Player could support access to the operator's high definition content and channel portfolio.

"[Virgin Media Player] allows us to build on our recent slew of HD TV announcements like ITV HD, Eurosport HD, Discovery HD, E4 HD, Film4 HD and others," he said.

"We have a strong HD line-up and our onus is to offer the highest quality experience on-demand, on TV, online and on mobile."

Another aspect that Virgin Media is working towards is 'TV anywhere', which will enable users to switch their viewing experience between platforms.

For example, a customer may start watching on the main set and then seamlessly switch to a laptop, before leaving the house and continuing their viewing on a mobile.
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