A group of UK cable providers is hoping to win a Cable & Wireless Communications Inc (CWC) near video on demand services contract, with its new Front Row service. The contract is held by British Sky Broadcasting Plc at the moment, but finishes at the end of this year. CWC, made up of Bell CableMedia, Mercury, Nynex and Videotron, currently has a non exclusive agreement to take near video on demand content from the Sky Box Office until the end of next year. But a new service called Front Row from NTL, Diamond, General Cable and Telewest is now offering a similar near video on demand service. Front Row is aimed solely at the UK cable market and will offer movies on four dedicated channels that are broadcast at specific scheduled times. Consumers can order access to the movies via the cable return path using their remote control in around 70% of cases or by telephone in the 30% of areas where the cable system has not yet been upgraded to offer that return path. UK cable subscribers will be charged 2.99 pounds per film. Front Row has secured movie content from Colombia Tristar, Warner Brothers and Walt Disney via Buena Vista International which have between them around 60% of the US box office. The Sky Box Office service has been seen as Sky’s prelude to the roll out of digital television services in June of this year to develop market data on how interactive services will be adopted by the consumer market.
