User-generated content and peer-to-peer video are on the roadmap

Telekom Austria launched its aonDigitalTV video-over-DSL service in Vienna in early March with a package of 40 basic TV channels, 10 premium channels (including adult) and a 150 movie VOD service. The premium package includes adult and children’s content. With 87 per cent ADSL coverage of Austria, the company says it will now embark on a controlled service roll-out to other metropolitan areas. The video is being delivered in MPEG-2 using Amino set-top boxes but according to Armin Sumesgutner, head of strategic portfolio management and innovation, “We are keen on MPEG-4 [Part 10] and are working on a solution this year.” aonDigitalTV is boasting channels that are available for the first time on a wired network in the country: namely the new sports channel Eurosport 2, the German version of The History Channel and the action film channel AXN from Sony Television. During a promotion until June 30, consumers can sign-up for EUR 59.90 including set-top box (normal price EUR 139.90) and free installation, which is carried out by professional installers.

The basic aonDigital TV content package of 40 free channels will cost EUR 19.90 after the promotion ends, but EUR 14.90 initially. The premium channels cost EUR 7.90 per month. Telekom Austria is hoping to differentiate its digital TV service by localising and personalising content to a greater extent than its competitors. According to Sumesgutner, “We are focused not just on showing what is happening out in the world but what is happening in the village next to you. Weather, news and traffic are important and if you, as a viewer, can input some personalised information like your route to work we want to be able to show you the status of those roads.” Sumesgutner says user-generated content is also one of the ways aonDigitalTV will set itself apart and is working out business models to become a peer-to-peer enabler for video content. “That is the next step - definitely.” This will be combined with high levels of parental control so adults can see what content is available and who is responsible for ‘posting’ it.

These innovations may be a response to the company’s anxiety about premium content availability. Sumesgutner told an audience at IPTV World Forum in March that “we have to add more content and there should be more flexibility for the content owners to adopt new distribution models over IPTV. Some operators are well connected to media companies in the background but that is not the case for us. So in the future, content will be a big issue.” The initial ‘wow’ factor for Austrian consumers could be true Video on Demand, however. The company has plundered the studio archives for popular back-titles like Rain Man, Thelma & Louise and The Silence of the Lambs and charges range from EUR 1 to EUR 5 per title.

Sumesgutner says his company is monitoring the impact of HDTV and he expects this summer’s World Cup soccer finals (in next door Germany) to provide clues about how soon Telekom Austria should offer this service. Interactivity and full EPG are included in the system.