BSkyB has announced that any extra bandwidth incurred by usage of its new Anytime+ VOD offer will count towards subscribers’ monthly download allowance.
Anytime+ is currently being rolled out as an optional upgrade to owners of Sky HD boxes who also take Sky’s broadband service (Sky has 3.2m HD customers, and a total of 2.8m broadband subscriptions). The VOD service allows subscribers free access in on-demand mode to some of the content they are entitled to under their current subscription package.
However, for users on Sky Broadband’s cheaper package, the download of around three 30-minute standard definition programmes a month would already reach the maximum 2GB usage allowance, creating the incentive for users to upgrade to Sky’s uncapped package.
This approach differs from that of rivals BT Vision and Virgin Media, neither of which counts VOD usage towards their broadband usage caps.
As ISPs increasingly add free VOD and catch-up TV to their own subscription services, the presence or absence of bandwidth caps and guarantees on quality of video streaming will become increasingly important as tools to differentiate their offers from those provided through over-the-top devices and services.
BSkyB is an early example of this trend, and is gambling that its customers will accept paying extra for broadband as a fair exchange for access to a free VOD offer.
This is not just a video trend, it is a generalised trend where any provider who provides services over data services are both widening the numbers of devices and services that they provide services for, whilst at the same time massively reducing what is included in the service price in terms of bandwidth. The cynical (or realists) amongst us see this as a defence against OTT, and the clever operator should be pushing towards making their own services as unlimited, but everyone else counting towards the limits.