E-Vision to offer on demand programmes

Customers of Etisalat's cable television service, E-Vision, will soon be able to access films and television programmes on demand through a new service launched today. Called Videoclub, the service represents the first "true" video on demand (VOD) service in the country, according to Humaid al Suwaidi, the chief executive officer of E-Vision. Satellite broadcasters that offer similar services in the UAE only offer a limited amount of content, he said, while Videoclub already offers more than 400 hours of on-demand viewing available instantly.

"Lifestyle has changed now," he said. "It is not up to the broadcaster to tell you to watch a programme at this time. You want to watch it at your convenience so that VOD makes you, as a consumer, in control of what you want, when you want." The VOD system was presented to the public for the first time at the Middle East Cable, Satellite, Broadcast and Communications Exhibition (Cabsat), where E-Vision also presented its first set-top box for receiving high-definition television.

khagey@thenational.ae