EE in 'stronger position' than Virgin Media with new TV service

The UK network has launched a bid to take control of your living room, with a new set-top box that lets you watch up to four different channels on different devices.

EE

UK network EE is no longer content to have control of your smartphone -- it wants to be in charge of your living room, too. The alliterative operator has launched a set-top box that will let you watch live or catch-up TV on up to four devices at once, and is included in the price of EE's broadband and landline packages.

Four-tuner set-top box

The box itself, which you can see above, contains a 1TB hard drive and sports four HD tuners, which will let it show up to four different channels at the same time, streamed via Wi-Fi to up to three different tablets or smartphones, and the TV itself -- ideal if members of your household would rather watch different shows in their respective rooms than all gather round one TV. The box comes with a remote, but you can control it using an app if you'd prefer.

EE

The box will get over 70 Freeview channels, and also packs video apps like BBC iPlayer, YouTube and Demand 5. Some services are conspicuously absent however, such as Netflix and Sky's Now TV.

EE TV is free if you're an EE broadband or landline customer. You can get it for £9.95 per month plus £15.75 line rental if you're an EE mobile customer.

EE

'A far stronger position.'

EE says video makes up more than 50 percent of its network's 4G activity, and with plenty of customers and a growing broadband business, could be in a strong position to take on TV giants like Sky and BT. 'It has a strong subscriber base to cross sell to,' said CCS Insight analyst Paolo Pescatore, 'And puts it in a far stronger position than other quad-play providers; Virgin Media and TalkTalk.'

'Given the exclusion of Netflix,' Pescatore noted, 'EE must strongly consider forging agreements with other key rights owners including BSkyB for Now TV. The company must also strengthen the range of on-demand services as this is becoming increasingly important to consumers as underlined by Netflix's growth.'