Eircom launches new TV service to take on Sky and UPC

Eircom Group CEO, Herb Hribar, with Pat Rabbitte, Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, at the eVision launch.

Irish telco Eircom has launched eVision, a new IPTV service offering up to 100 channels in a move to establish itself as a quad-play provider and take on pay TV operators BSkyB and UPC Ireland. 

Eircom is offering two basic packages. The Essential pack, for €10 a month, includes 34 channels, while for an additional €6 subscribers can upgrade to the Experience package with an additional 20 services. Sky Sports 1 and 2 will be available as a package for €29, while a combined pack of Setanta Sports and BT Sports will be available for €16.

Other packages include Sky Movies for €24 and a combined offering of Sky Sports 1 and 2 with Sky Movies for €39.

Subscribers can upgrade to multiroom for an additional €5 a month.

The service includes a standard DVR set-top box with live pause functionality and 240 hours of recording capacity. Viewers can record two channels while watching a third.

Eircom is making the service available free of charge for the first six months as a promotional offer, with a subsequent subscription charge of €10 a month.

The Eircom basic package reportedly includes UK channels from the BBC and Channel 4, but not ITV.

The service will only be available to Eircom’s eFibre customers. The fibre service is currently available to 450,000 homes, set to rise to 1.2 million by 2015.

Eircom received support from UK consultancy Farncombe for the project.