Virgin Media 2009 Annual Report Download - page 15

In 2009, we continued to focus on increasing our proportion of higher value contract customers,
improving access to content via our mobile platform, and expanding our range of higher value mobile
handsets. We continued to promote the use of our mobile platform to view internet and television
content, by introducing features such as easier access to social networking applications via the mobile
handset. In September 2009, we announced a new multiplatform agreement to carry Walt Disney
content on our television, broadband and mobile platforms. We plan to make additional music and
video content available via our mobile platform in 2010 and have introduced pricing bundles structured
to promote the use of multimedia platforms among our mobile customers.
Non-cable Products and Services
We also provide broadband and telephone services to residential customers outside of our cable
network, or non-cable customers, over third-party telecommunications networks. Our non-cable
broadband internet services are provided via BT’s local access network and unbundled BT exchanges
from Cable & Wireless plc, or C&W. We offer various price and feature packages, including broadband
service of up to 16 Mbps. As of December 31, 2009, we had approximately 265,700 non-cable
broadband subscribers. We also provide fixed line telephone service to non-cable customers via BT’s
local access network. As of December 31, 2009, we provided non-cable fixed line telephone service to
approximately 139,800 subscribers.
Marketing and Sales
Our consumer strategy focuses primarily on marketing bundled offerings of products and services
across our ‘‘quad-play’’ portfolio to existing and potential customers. Our bundling strategy provides
our customers with discounts from the price of buying our services separately and the convenience of a
single bill. We believe that customers who subscribe to multiple services from us are less likely to
churn. We also actively pursue opportunities to cross-sell complementary services across our product
range and up-sell higher value services to our existing customers.
We offer our consumer products and services through a broad range of retail channels, including
via telesales, customer care centers, online and points of sale. We also engage in direct marketing
initiatives through a dedicated national sales force of approximately 250 representatives, as well as
comprehensive national and regional mass media advertising initiatives. In 2009, we significantly
expanded our portfolio of own brand stores with the opening of 26 Virgin Media branded retail stores
and the introduction of 23 Virgin Media branded shopping center kiosks. Our own brand stores and
kiosks offer a complete range of our consumer products and services and, on average, more than half
of customers that subscribed to our services at one of our own brand stores during 2009 took one of
our triple-play or quad-play product bundles. As of December 31, 2009, we had in aggregate 49 own
brand stores and 23 kiosks.
In February 2010, we announced our agreement with leading electronics retailer, Best Buy, to
showcase and sell Virgin Media products in their stores in the U.K., which are expected to open in the
second quarter of 2010. We also offer primarily our mobile telephony products through approximately
4,300 third party sales outlets in the U.K., including approximately 1,300 specialist outlets of our
distribution partners, such as Carphone Warehouse and Phones 4U. In addition, we offer SIM-only
products and mobile airtime vouchers through independent retailers across the U.K.
Customer Service
We believe that effective customer service contributes to customer satisfaction, which results in
reduced churn and improved acquisition rates of new customers. As of December 31, 2009, we
employed approximately 2,450 staff for our cable and non-cable call centers, and approximately
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