UPC Ireland unveils next generation TV service

Media company UPC Ireland has unveiled its next generation TV service as the company battles competition from rival Sky and the growing number of online TV services.

The new Horizon digital TV platform revamps UPC’s current digital TV offering, allowing users to access its services more easily and on a wider range of devices.

“It’s a defining moment for UPC, for Irish TV and for viewers,” new chief executive Magnus Ternsjö.

Horizon TV users will be able to record four programmes at once while watching another, and also accessing the Horizon TV service through UPC’s app on a tablet or smartphone within the home. The TV service can also be accessed through a web browser.

Subscribers will also get 19 high-definition channels included in their subscription, including content from BBC, Sky and RTE.

The Horizon set top box's programme guide has also been redesigned to a more visual interface. Tapping into the current trend for smart TVs, the box also brings apps to the platform, with content from providers such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and the Irish Times.

The new set-top box has a built in wifi modem, which allows current broadband and TV customers to ditch their separate router for a single box.

"We believe it's not just a little ahead of the competition, but that it's way ahead," said UPC Ireland's vice president of sales and marketing Mark Coan.

UPC is offering customers a bundle that comes with 100mb broadband included as standard, but subscribers can downgrade the line speed to 50mb, or increase it to UPC’s top broadband package of 150mb.

It’s the third launch of the Horizon service for UPC, with the Netherlands and Switzerland already using the new platform.

The company has been testing the service in Ireland in recent weeks, with customer feedback leading to some tweaks of the service.