European telco operators have taken different approaches to content acquisition. Based on initial content strategies, it is clear that most early European IPTV service providers had one objective in common ­– to offer a basic line-up of core channels in combination with a limited but exclusive video on-demand (VoD) library, offering a modest range of 250–500 titles.
This report looks at telco strategies for investing in content acquisition and challenges for content finance, management and costs, including 4 case studies:Telefonica, France Telecom, Austria Telecom, Telefonica/O2 Czech Republic.

Table of contents

Challenges for content acquisition and management

Content acquisition approaches and costs

Cost of content and price of service

Content types and acquisition estimated costs
So is exclusivity a good or bad thing?
Content management and media operating models

Case studies: European telco content strategies

Telefónica: marriage and divorce with Endemol
Focus on IPTV Imagenio’s performance
France Telecom: new co-producer on the block?
Examples in emerging European IPTV markets
Table of figures
Figure 1 European telcos media services offers
Figure 2 Comparison of content service costs
Figure 3 European content acquisition strategies