BT to add music service to TV offerings

[FAGuru]

 

BT is to launch a music streaming and karaoke service backed by the world's largest music company, Universal Music.

The service will initially offer the equivalent of about 150 albums of music tracks, which subscribers can listen to through their BT TV service.

The service is available free to existing BT TV Unlimited customers, and £3 a month to other BT TV customers who want to add it.

However, BT executives say that this will rapidly be increased to more than 1,000 albums, and there are hopes to bring the other major music companies and independent record labels on board.

The service has been in beta-test mode for close to two months and is set to be launched officially imminently.

Developing music services that are attractive to customers has been a hit-and-miss process for pay-TV providers.

In October 2009 BSkyB launched a much-hyped music downloads subscription service, Sky Songs, with an ambition to attract millions of users.

Despite being backed by EMI, Universal, Sony Music and Warner the service, which was more like an iTunes store than BT's music TV service,closed after little more than a year after being "unable to reach a large enough customer base".

In 2011 Virgin Media struck a deal with Spotify, although it came two years after the cable TV operator first unveiled plans for a music service.

BT is thought to also have held talks with Spotify back in 2011, although the talks never progressed to a deal.

When BT first launched its TV service at the end of 2006 it went on tostrike a deal with Universal Music for music videos.

On Thursday, BT Sport also announced its latest TV rights deal signing a multi-year contract with the National Basketball Association.

The deal with the NBA, which starts on 1 December, will see the exclusive live broadcast of up to seven games per week. BT said that it will air up to 200 games per season.

The NBA has been off British TV screens since late last year, when BSkyB and ESPN were reported to be in discussions over this season's UK TV rights.

"BT Sport will be the new home of the NBA in the UK and Ireland," said Simon Green, the head of BT Sport.

Also included in the partnership are several magazine shows including weekly highlights and news programme NBA Action, and NBA Countdown, a live pre-game build-up show.