BT Vision adds Demand Five

October 8, 2008 - UK telco BT has signed a deal with local broadcaster Channel Five to add the latter's on-demand service to its 'BT Vision' IPTV service.

The deal will make Channel Five programmes aired during the previous eight days, such as Neighbours, Fifth Gear, The Hotel Inspector and children's fare such as Milkshake!, available for download on-demand. Most content will be available on a pay-per-view basis for between 79p and 99p (US$ 1.37-1.72) per episode, or as part of BT Vision's GB£ 3 and GB£ 6 per month packs. Milkshake! programmes which will not carry advertising, cost 49p per episode or can be included in a Kids viewing pack for GB£ 6 per month.

This is reported to be the first deal that Channel Five has made to put Demand Five, launched in June, onto a third-party on-demand service in the UK. Dan Marks, BT Vision's chief executive, commented that the addition of Demand Five adds further breadth and depth of programming to the UK’s largest on-demand television service.

It is thought likely that BT is hoping to capture some of the same success that cable operator Virgin Media has had with the addition of the BBC's iPlayer catch-up service to its cable TV offering.