U.K. cable operators, Telewest Broadband and ntl have launched on-demand services in the United Kingdom as they aim to put pressure on satellite pay-TV operator BSkyB in the United Kingdom digital television market. ntl claims the launch of its on-demand service is the first mass-market video-on-demand (VoD) service launch outside of the United States. The service has initially been rolled out in Glasgow, Scotland, and soon will be rolled out to ntl’s other regions throughout the United Kingdom.

ntl’s on-demand will provide access to additional programming hours for subscribers. Thenew service will be exclusive to ntl digital TV customers. There will be a selection of free and paid content available.

Telewest, the other U.K. cable operator, has also launched its movies-on-demand service to more than 2000 digital customers in Bristol, England, as the first step of its own on-demand plans. The operator has more than one million digital television customers, and like ntl, will aggressively roll out on-demand services in 2005.