TalkTalk today pulled off a coup by recruiting Sony chairman Sir Howard Stringer, a global media heavyweight, to be a non-executive director as the telecoms group made a big foray into the pay-TV market.
Chief executive Dido Harding announced plans to give premium customers a free YouView internet-connected TV set-top box, worth £300, if they sign up for a “triple play” of broadband, home phone and TV.
YouView offers all the Freeview digital channels plus catch-up programmes from the last seven days and the ability to pay for programmes. The “triple play” package will cost £29 a month, and Harding claims it is “the best value for money by some margin”.
In another significant move, Harding has agreed a deal with BSkyB to offer TalkTalk customers most of Sky’s main channels, which they can pay for on a month-by-month basis rather than on annual deal.
