Kbro Co (凱擘), the nation’s biggest cable television system operator, yesterday said that starting next month, it would give Internet-based subscribers a free Android-based set-top box to stream online videos other than its cable TV content, in a bid to fend off growing competition from Chunghwa Telecom Co’s (中華電信) Internet TV unit.
Kbro’s announcement came following a major regulatory change early this year allowing Chunghwa Telecom’s Internet TV business unit, known as multimedia-on-demand (MOD), greater flexibility in offering content and channel packages.
Before that, MOD only served as a platform provider delivering video on demand.
Photo: CNA
“The competition landscape has completely changed. We are facing the strongest competition from Chunghwa Telecom’s MOD,” Kbro chairman James Jeng (鄭俊卿) told a media briefing in Taipei.
Aside from MOD, over-the-top (OTT) video services providers are nibbling at cable TV’s market, given the rising popularity of online video streaming, Jeng said.
The nation’s cable TV subscriber numbers could drop to fewer than 5 million households by the end of this year and decline further next year, he said.
To safeguard its turf, Kbro launched the Android-based set-top box, called A1, which gives subscribers access to video streaming services including Android TV, HBO, China’s iQiyi (愛奇藝) and Line TV.
“This is Kbro’s first step in transforming itself from a cable TV provider to an Internet-based technology provider,” Jeng said. “We also plan to offer new smart home and smart community services with our partners later this year.”
Kbro plans to give out 24,000 Android-based boxes by the end of the year and is targeting 100,000 next year, Jeng said.
The company aims to have 1 million of its cable TV subscribers adopt the A1 box within three years, Jeng said.
That would cost Kbro about NT$4 billion (US$128.8 million) at about NT$4,000 a box, the company said.
The goal, if reached, would boost Kbro’s broadband penetration rate to about 60 percent from 40 percent currently, he said.
Starting on Tuesday next week, 120Mbps subscribers can receive a free Android-based set-top box, the company said.
At the same time, Kbro is to offer a package of only NT$999 a month for Internet speeds of 1Gbps and A1 content access in preparation for the arrival of the 5G era and more offerings of ultra-high-resolution 4K and 8K content, it said.
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