The Evolution of Quad-Play Services
With declining revenues, Internet Service Providers need to find new ways of attracting customers and lowering their churn rate.
Credit: Design Week
Published 21/08/18
Over the last number of years, an obvious trend has slowly percolated into the Irish communications market. That trend involves combining multiple services under one bill from a single company. Communications providers that previously specialised in providing a specific service have diversified their business model, and in a sense, put their eggs in many baskets. This trend is known as triple and quad-play, combing mobile, broadband, TV (and landline).
There are multiple examples of companies shifting towards these consolidated services in Ireland. Vodafone, Virgin Media, Sky and eir have all beefed up their triple and quad-play offerings in recent years. In each case, a company has launched a new service to lower their churn rate and tighten their grip on existing customers.
For example, Vodafone has historically prioritised mobile over everything else, but the company recently launched its own TV service, Vodafone TV, to coincide with new broadband offerings. Virgin Media became an MVNO following Three's merger with O2 in 2015 and has managed to sign up thousands of existing broadband customers to the mobile plans. Then, there's eir, who is undoubtedly the king of quad-play in Ireland. The company has developed its own sports channels, free for existing customers, bundles a TV service with broadband and has a sizeable mobile subscriber base.
There are multiple examples of companies shifting towards these consolidated services in Ireland. Vodafone, Virgin Media, Sky and eir have all beefed up their triple and quad-play offerings in recent years. In each case, a company has launched a new service to lower their churn rate and tighten their grip on existing customers.
For example, Vodafone has historically prioritised mobile over everything else, but the company recently launched its own TV service, Vodafone TV, to coincide with new broadband offerings. Virgin Media became an MVNO following Three's merger with O2 in 2015 and has managed to sign up thousands of existing broadband customers to the mobile plans. Then, there's eir, who is undoubtedly the king of quad-play in Ireland. The company has developed its own sports channels, free for existing customers, bundles a TV service with broadband and has a sizeable mobile subscriber base.
Why Quad-Play?
Credit: TechPP
For companies such as Vodafone and eir, having customers paying for multiple services is extremely lucrative. Not only are they earning more revenue, they can also lock those customers into their services for an extended period of time. Think about it this way, when you receive all of your services from one company, it will be more difficult to leave that company for a competitor. So, even if you see a competitor offering better prices, you may decide to stick with your existing provider because of the fear of change.
If you're a communications provider, the churn rate will be an important statistic that will give some clues as to the "stickiness" of your service. For those offering quad-play, the churn rate will be lower, meaning fewer people are switching to a different provider.
Another benefit of providing quad-play which may not be immediately obvious is the increased amount of data that these providers will gain about people's usage. For example, they will learn about TV viewership trends and use this to enhance their offerings.
If you're a communications provider, the churn rate will be an important statistic that will give some clues as to the "stickiness" of your service. For those offering quad-play, the churn rate will be lower, meaning fewer people are switching to a different provider.
Another benefit of providing quad-play which may not be immediately obvious is the increased amount of data that these providers will gain about people's usage. For example, they will learn about TV viewership trends and use this to enhance their offerings.
eir dominates the Irish Quad-Play Market
Credit: Broadband TV News
I want to use the example of eir to explain the benefits of quad-play for providers. As you probably know, eir is the largest broadband provider in this country, giving them tremendous leverage over how they distribute content. The company purchased Setanta Sports and rebranded the channels to eir sport in 2016. If you're an eir broadband or bill pay mobile customer, you can enjoy eir sport for free. Furthermore, you can stream these sports channels on your phone without them eating into your data allowance if you're an eir mobile customer. Moving your services to Vodafone or any other company will result in you losing access to eir sport unless you pay €20 monthly.
Eir's broadband network serves as the method of delivering other services such as eir Vision TV. The company has also launched its own challenger to Sky Movies with eir Movies, providing access to on-demand content. Eir's broadband network acts as the conveyor belt used to deliver more services to customers. As well as this, eir's recently revamped bill pay and sim only plans offer a discount of €10 every month to existing broadband customers, making customers more likely to choose eir for mobile as well as broadband. Moreover, eir mobile customers can avail of WiFi Calling, however, they must access an eir WiFi network to utilise the feature.
I should also mention Sky, the most popular paid-TV service in Ireland. The company has expanded its offerings in the broadband market, and it is now the fastest growing broadband provider in Ireland. Sky offers its existing TV customers the choice of adding broadband to their plan at a discounted price. Sky's push into the broadband market perfectly complements the introduction of their new TV box, Sky Q, which utilises a broadband connection to stream on-demand content. While the company offers triple-play in Ireland, combining TV, Broadband and landline, they have become an MVNO in the UK also.
Virgin Media has slowly expanded its services in Ireland, now offering mobile, broadband, TV and landline. If you're a Virgin Media broadband customer, you can add mobile for excellent discounts. The company has managed to use its existing pool of broadband customers to boost its mobile base. Virgin's TV service is second only to Sky in terms of subscriptions, and it has played a key role in ensuring customers stick with Virgin Media. We also need to talk about the company's acquisition and rebranding of TV3. Many sports matches which were previously free to view will now become exclusive to Virgin's broadband customers.
Finally, let's investigate Vodafone. The company recently began to offer family plans, where bringing three or more customers under one bill from Vodafone provides a discount of more than €20 each month overall. Vodafone TV is a streaming TV service which uses Vodafone's broadband network to deliver channels. If you're a Vodafone mobile customer, you can stream TV on the Vodafone TV Anywhere app without it eating into your data allowance.
Eir's broadband network serves as the method of delivering other services such as eir Vision TV. The company has also launched its own challenger to Sky Movies with eir Movies, providing access to on-demand content. Eir's broadband network acts as the conveyor belt used to deliver more services to customers. As well as this, eir's recently revamped bill pay and sim only plans offer a discount of €10 every month to existing broadband customers, making customers more likely to choose eir for mobile as well as broadband. Moreover, eir mobile customers can avail of WiFi Calling, however, they must access an eir WiFi network to utilise the feature.
I should also mention Sky, the most popular paid-TV service in Ireland. The company has expanded its offerings in the broadband market, and it is now the fastest growing broadband provider in Ireland. Sky offers its existing TV customers the choice of adding broadband to their plan at a discounted price. Sky's push into the broadband market perfectly complements the introduction of their new TV box, Sky Q, which utilises a broadband connection to stream on-demand content. While the company offers triple-play in Ireland, combining TV, Broadband and landline, they have become an MVNO in the UK also.
Virgin Media has slowly expanded its services in Ireland, now offering mobile, broadband, TV and landline. If you're a Virgin Media broadband customer, you can add mobile for excellent discounts. The company has managed to use its existing pool of broadband customers to boost its mobile base. Virgin's TV service is second only to Sky in terms of subscriptions, and it has played a key role in ensuring customers stick with Virgin Media. We also need to talk about the company's acquisition and rebranding of TV3. Many sports matches which were previously free to view will now become exclusive to Virgin's broadband customers.
Finally, let's investigate Vodafone. The company recently began to offer family plans, where bringing three or more customers under one bill from Vodafone provides a discount of more than €20 each month overall. Vodafone TV is a streaming TV service which uses Vodafone's broadband network to deliver channels. If you're a Vodafone mobile customer, you can stream TV on the Vodafone TV Anywhere app without it eating into your data allowance.
Benefits for Consumers
Credit: Sky
A factor that plays a major role when choosing a service is the price. Generally, bundling three or four services with one company allows you to earn steep discounts. As I've explained above, certain services are unique to customers who opt for a triple or quad-play bundle. Furthermore, when you bundle multiple services with one company, you will be given the opportunity to seamlessly transition between each service in the company's ecosystem. This goes a long way to improve customer's satisfaction with their service. Think of the example I outlined earlier about WiFi Calling for eir Mobile customers being available with eir broadband only.
Another important benefit that quad-play provides consumers is simplicity. There is just one bill, one customer care team, and one website/store. This makes resolving issues significantly easier. Furthermore, customers who pay for multiple services from one company will likely receive priority customer care, because they are of more value to the company.
Another important benefit that quad-play provides consumers is simplicity. There is just one bill, one customer care team, and one website/store. This makes resolving issues significantly easier. Furthermore, customers who pay for multiple services from one company will likely receive priority customer care, because they are of more value to the company.
Drawbacks for Consumers
While quad-play provides many benefits, it also has its own fair share of drawbacks. The primary of which being is the difficulty for a company to be a jack of all trades. When a company provides quad-play, their resources will be shared between each service. eir's broadband network is obviously the company's most valuable asset, requiring more investment than its TV service, leading to a sub-par experience for that service. Put simply, when a company specialises in one area, they will produce a more refined product. Vodafone's mobile network is class-leading, whereas Sky's TV offering is arguably the best on the market. So, when you choose one company for four services, not all of those services will be the best there is out there individually.
You probably expected to read this, but, accessing all of your services from one company can make you more susceptible to large faults. If you pay for quad-play from eir and the copper line (or fibre if you're lucky) coming into your home is damaged during a storm, you will lose access to broadband, landline and TV. Essentially, you are putting all your eggs in one basket with quad-play.
One last issue that I would like to highlight is the power that you give a company when choosing quad-play. All of your data will be managed and processed by the same company, giving them the power to target you with personalised advertisements and other sales strategies. And, of course, I need to mention the more controversial topic that is privacy. When you choose quad-play, you do lose some form of privacy, regardless of what the company claims. The company can monitor all of your family's TV, Internet and phone usage.
You probably expected to read this, but, accessing all of your services from one company can make you more susceptible to large faults. If you pay for quad-play from eir and the copper line (or fibre if you're lucky) coming into your home is damaged during a storm, you will lose access to broadband, landline and TV. Essentially, you are putting all your eggs in one basket with quad-play.
One last issue that I would like to highlight is the power that you give a company when choosing quad-play. All of your data will be managed and processed by the same company, giving them the power to target you with personalised advertisements and other sales strategies. And, of course, I need to mention the more controversial topic that is privacy. When you choose quad-play, you do lose some form of privacy, regardless of what the company claims. The company can monitor all of your family's TV, Internet and phone usage.
Conclusion: A Seamless Ecosystem of Services
Credit: Virgin
As a communications provider, developing a strong and diverse ecosystem of services that can be bundled together is a difficult and slow process. Becoming a quad-play provider requires significant investment and scale, and the willingness to discount services in the hope of lowering churn rates and bolstering customer loyalty over the long term.
In Ireland, eir has shown its unique ability to offer quad-play services which appeal to a wide audience and tighten the company's grip over customers. Vodafone has also steadily developed its own quad-play model, along with Virgin Media. Sky remains a triple-play provider as it has yet to become an MVNO in this country as it has in the UK.
For many consumers, benefits such as simplicity and cost savings far outweigh the drawbacks, which include inferior individual services and increased vulnerability to widespread faults. Going forward, it's likely that we'll see even more competitive quad-play offerings, creating an industry with an incredibly high subscriber stickiness rate. To sum this up in a single phrase, communications companies such as eir and Vodafone need to go big or go home.
In Ireland, eir has shown its unique ability to offer quad-play services which appeal to a wide audience and tighten the company's grip over customers. Vodafone has also steadily developed its own quad-play model, along with Virgin Media. Sky remains a triple-play provider as it has yet to become an MVNO in this country as it has in the UK.
For many consumers, benefits such as simplicity and cost savings far outweigh the drawbacks, which include inferior individual services and increased vulnerability to widespread faults. Going forward, it's likely that we'll see even more competitive quad-play offerings, creating an industry with an incredibly high subscriber stickiness rate. To sum this up in a single phrase, communications companies such as eir and Vodafone need to go big or go home.
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