Vectra plans to boost online offering, launch VOD

Polish cable operator Vectra plans to increase the number of live channels it offers on its online TV service and will launch VOD this autumn, according to CEO Tomasz Zuranski. 

Speaking at Arris-Motorola’s Video Leadership Forum event in Berlin, Zuranski said that currently Vectra offers 25 live TV channels online, the HBO Go OTT offering, music on-demand, as well as 44 HD TV channels.

However, he said that the operator planned to up this, in response to visitor growth to its online TV offering.

“This autumn we will launch VOD, we will also launch OTT services via set-top boxes and we will increase the number of live channels on our TV online service. We will also increase our HD channels [offering] up to 50,” said Zuranski.

He added that despite viewers moving online, television viewing in Poland remains strong with viewers watching around 4 hours and 40 minutes per day.

Vectra, by Zuranski’s own admission, is a fairly small player in terms of the broader European operator market, but is second or third in the Polish market, depending on what measurement is taken.

The firm recently launched a new HD set-top box provided by Arris. The Motorola HMC3021 box is capable of supporting advanced services such as video-on-demand, and is being used to transition analogue subscribers to digital, paving the way for multiscreen and IP-based services.

Separately, Miroslaw Godlewski, CEO of Polish IPTV service provider Netia said at the same event that it is planning to launch programme recommendations in roughly 12 months, building on its existing smart search tool.

However, Godlewski added: “Unlike many operators, we’re not thinking about our own VOD service.

“There’s so much out there that the job on its own is to aggregate it and make it easier to access,” he said, claiming that Netia is working to make it possible for its customers to access its video content freely from its public WiFi hotspots, which it offers in partnership with Fon.

“It is just the beginning, but now in 250,000 places, if you’re a Netia subscriber, you can watch streamed content the same way, free of charge, as you would be watching it at home on your main screen,” said Godlewski.