BCI Opt for Boxer

The Broading Casting Commission of Ireland (BCI) announced its decision with regard to the award of the three national Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) multiplex contracts.

The Commission considered the applications received from three consortia and has awarded the contracts in principle to Boxer DTT Limited.

RTÉ reports that the Boxer consortium includes the Denis O'Brien's Communicorp and BT. They beat the other hopefuls: Easy TV -- composed of RTÉ and UPC -- and One Vision, which involved TV3, Setanta, and Eircom.

Applying for the licences, Boxer had said it would offer prices below €10 a month and will allow viewers to top up their channel selections 'a la carte'. It said there will also be a 'pay as you go' option for its pay channels.

'We are delighted to have been awarded the licence and look forward to rolling out a world class broadcast network in Ireland over the coming months,' commented Boxer DTT chairman Lucy Gaffney.

'As an independent operator formed with the sole purpose of providing these services, our offering provides consumers with excellent choice and simple, flexible and affordable access to a wide range of TV channels', she said.

Boxer DTT will launch its offering in January 2009.