James R | On 07, Oct 2015

In an age of on-demand streaming, the words “new pay-TV service” are something that have become increasingly rare, but TVPlayer has launched just that. Sort of.

The site has built up a huge following in recent years thanks to its ability to stream TV channels live online. Its free streaming line-up includes UKTV’s Dave, Really, Yesterday and Drama, plus CNN. Now, it has launched TVPlayer Plus, an SVOD / pay-TV hybrid. For ¬£4.99 a month, the service offers access to 25 premium channels – not normally available on Freeview – including Discovery Channel, British Eurosport 2, HISTORY and Lifetime. The platform, which has no contract and can therefore be cancelled at any time, also includes Cartoon Network and Boomerang, plus GOLD, Watch, Home and the Sony Movie Channel.

The service is designed to be a bolt-on for Freeview TV users who do not want to be locked into a pay-TV contract, but remains based around the same premium channels that are offered by contract-based companies, including TalkTalk, BT and Sky. TVPlayer Plus, though, is an online solution: the service is currently available on iOS devices and computers, as well as via an app on Samsung Smart TVs and Amazon Fire TV.

Indeed, the subscription service is targeted at two groups: Millennials and pay-TV holdouts. The former has often never subscribed to a paid television service because they have not been in the position to do so. In contrast, the holdouts have consciously made the decision not to subscribe to pay-TV before and often use services such as Netflix.

Adam Smith, Founder and CEO of Simplestream, the company behind TVPlayer, said in a statement: “TVPlayer has seen significant success to date with over half a million people now watching TV over-the-top each week on our service. Similar to what Netflix has done for movies and Spotify for music, TVPlayer Plus aims to offer a simplified viewing experience of traditional and premium television content; one which works with the devices you already have and lets you pause, modify or cancel your subscription whenever you like.”

While it is centred on live streaming, it does also contain some catch-up content from “selected” channels, with programmes available for seven days after their broadcast. This on-demand content will total around 100 hours a week, at first featuring titles from Lifetime, HISTORY, H@, Discovery, TLD, Animal Planet, British Eurosport and British Eurosport 2 and kids’ channels Cartoon Network and Boomerang.

Add to Watchlist