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SCMP Reporter

PCCW, Hong Kong largest broadband service provider, is pushing its music subscription service to maintain or improve its average revenue per user and to differentiate the company from competitors, according to a senior executive.
PCCW is promoting the service as the company and other service providers such as City Telecom's Hong Kong Broadband Network prepare to raise their broadband service tariff by  10 per cent  to 50 per cent this year. 
The broadband market is no longer competing only on price, said Dominic Leung Tak-sing, PCCW's managing director in television and content.
'There are no competitors cutting prices to lure users now. We are all concerned with our services and product offering,' he said. 
PCCW's broadband service average revenue per user is showing an upward trend, Mr Leung said, while declining to comment on the level of increase  in the past year. Analysts estimated the company's arpu at about HK$170 to HK$180 per month.
The company  charges users HK$198 a  month for unlimited broadband internet access which includes  18  Now Broadband TV channels.
As the products provided by different service providers are broadly similar,  PCCW wants  to use the music service to increase  its hold on users. 
PCCW launched its MOOV music service in March with the support of record labels such as Universal Music, Warner Music and EMI. 
By charging subscribers a flat rate of HK$48 per month, users can get unlimited access to MOOV's 60,000-song  database through broadband streaming technology,  much like an online radio station.  The downloaded music cannot be saved to the computer.

'Since the service launched in March, more than 20 million songs have been streamed by users. It would take a radio station 152 years to broadcast that number,'  Mr Leung said. 
He did not provide details on the number of users.

In order to reach more users, PCCW has extended the MOOV  service to mobile phones. This version is available through PCCW Mobile 3G services, which allows users to listen to music on-the-go through 3G handsets.
Mr Leung said the MOOV  service  had helped users become accustomed to  paying for music through the internet, rather than illegally downloading songs or buying  pirated CDs.
'Digital music sales in Hong Kong have risen more than 10 times since  PCCW launched the music subscription service earlier this year,' said Paul Robinson, president and chief operating officer of EMI Music Southeast Asia. 
Mr Robinson believed that the emergence of digital music would not cannibalise  traditional record sales.
'The digital music service should be treated as another marketing and promotional platform, rather than a  replacement of traditional CD business,' Mr Robinson said.
Mr Leung and Mr Robinson also see the monthly subscription business model as removing the barriers to users paying for digital music.
'Users in Hong Kong accept a monthly package for unlimited music streaming, rather than paying HK$10 for each song, as they want value for money,' Mr Leung said.


PCCW gets moving on digital music for broadband edge