VodafoneThree to launch debut TV service in challenge to UK rivals

VodafoneThree is set to launch a UK TV service for the first time as the country’s largest mobile operator intensifies efforts to take on rivals Sky, BT and Virgin Media O2 with a broader range of services.

The FTSE 100 company is seeking to cross-sell the TV offering, which will include streaming services such as Netflix and HBO Max, to its existing UK customers. The move forms part of VodafoneThree’s effort to more than double its broadband business to over 4.3mn customers by 2034.

“We need a TV offering to sell to our fixed [broadband customer] base, but also we’ve got a very large mobile [customer] base and TV is something our customers are asking for,” said VodafoneThree chief executive Max Taylor. The company will launch the service next month.

The move will see Vodafone more closely replicate the approach of its domestic rivals, which already provide TV, broadband and mobile services.

The industry has had mixed success pushing into TV. BT launched BT Sport in 2013 but has since backed away from the venture because of the high costs involved. The company sold half of the business to Warner Bros Discovery in 2022 and is looking to offload its remaining stake in the business, according to people familiar with the matter.

BT’s annual TV customer growth is now about 4 per cent, while heavily indebted Virgin Media O2’s TV customer base is declining by roughly 4 per cent a year, according to estimates from Enders Analysis. Sky does not publish any TV customer figures.

Unlike Sky, Vodafone will not produce its own content, opting instead to enter partnerships with streaming groups that have lured viewers away from linear TV services.

“These types of packages can appeal to certain types of broadband customers who want the simplicity of bundled services [without paying for] the full Sky bundle,” said James Barford, director of telecoms at Enders Analysis, who cited the growth of BT’s TV business, EE TV, as evidence.

VodafoneThree, formed in a £16.5bn merger last year, also announced plans on Thursday to launch a new “SuperMobile” premium service, with faster download speeds.

Separately, the company has become embroiled in a spat with Reform UK over its provision of free SIM cards to migrant charity Care4Calais. In a letter last month to Margherita Della Valle, chief executive of Vodafone Group, Reform’s shadow home secretary Zia Yusuf last month warned that the company’s executives could face jail over its support of “illegal migrants”.

Despite the threat, VodafoneThree is one of the companies sending representatives to Reform UK’s party conference on Thursday. Taylor declined to comment on the row with Yusuf.