UPC unveils On Demand TV for Ireland

I’ve heard about this coming for a while and even seen some sneaky shots of this a couple of weeks back. I’m not sure if UPC are selling this correctly! Yes, they will have OnDemand Movies for rent (New titles will cost 4.99 for Standard Def and 5.99 for HD Movies), but it’s also a catchup service, through your set-top box! Imagine the situation, you get home and just see the end of a show on RTE / TV3 and you remember you should have recorded it! Well, fear not, if you can wait a few mins (or how ever long it takes RTE/TV3 to get the show on their player, usually it’s pretty quick though), hit the red button (not the power button) and walla! You have access to the Catch Up content from RTE and TV3 with TG4 to follow soon, (also Discovery and other channels, but I’m not 100% familiar with their services. I am hoping that UPC get 4OD in the mix as that’s my catch up service of choice!).

On top of all that, there will be over 1,300 hours of boxsets available for free. These will include the likes of Doctor Who, The Good Wife, Blue Bloods and more. So US and UK based content!

The service is rolling to to a chuck of it’s Dublin based customers on Friday (25th May) and will be phased out to the rest of the country (that supports it) over the coming weeks/months!

We’ll have a hands on review of the service up shortly as well, till then, check out the official press release! (actually, do check it out, there’s some interesting nuggets in there!)

 

PRESS RELEASE:

Launching on Friday May 25th, UPC, the nation’s leading provider of entertainment, information and communications, today unveiled On Demand TV for Ireland, bringing a groundbreaking new TV experience to its customers.
For the first time, this unique service offers customers the benefit of seven day catch-up TV from the RTÉ Player and 3player and over 1,300 hours of the best box sets and series for free. Additionally, Movies On-Demand is also available at the touch of a button.

The launch of On Demand TV has been enabled by UPC’s €500 million investments in its fibre powered network. Over one third of homes in Dublin will get On Demand instantly on their current UPC TV service. It will become available to the rest of the country throughout the summer to reach over 600,000 Irish homes.

The much anticipated service was unveiled today at Dublin’s Lighthouse Cinema by UPC Ireland CEO Dana Strong and UPC Brand Ambassador Craig Doyle together with Simon Delaney, Coronation Street’s Michelle Keegan, Dave Fanning, Martin King and Fair City actor Ciara O’Callaghan.

For the first time in Ireland, the RTÉ Player and 3player will be available on the digital TV service, available FREE to all UPC Digital TV cable customers. In addition, there are over 1,300 hours of On Demand library content from the most popular TV series from the BBC, ITV, and a range of other leading channels, so customers will always have something to watch, whenever it suits them.

Access to ITV, BBC and US box sets as well as the On Demand content from MGM, True Movies, Food Network, History and Discovery Channel will be available with further new programmes and content being added in the weeks ahead. Additionally, there are complete box sets of award winning US TV, such as Blue Bloods, The Good Wife and Dexter among others – available free of charge to UPC Select and Max customers through their UPC digital remote.

UPC has negotiated with the top Hollywood studios to allow customers to rent from hundreds of movies, including the latest box office hits, directly through their TV at the touch of a button. UPC will provide the latest release movies at the same time as they are available on DVD.

Speaking at the launch Dana Strong, Chief Executive of UPC Ireland said,

“UPC On-Demand TV redefines television as we know it in Ireland and gives us a unique TV offering. UPC customers can now watch what they want, when they want, without the constraints of a TV schedule or DVR. It’s the only true On-Demand TV service in Ireland which means you’ll always be able to find something you enjoy. This investment is the start of a process which will see us bringing even more innovative new products and services to our customers in the current year.

“On Demand TV is our first step in changing how Irish households watch television.
Even if you forget to record your favourite shows you can relax knowing they will be available for the next week through the catch-up TV service. Or you can simply choose from our extensive library of other television programmes, box sets and movies.”