Service providers are increasingly viewing the notion of the “multiplay bundle” not only as a marketing vehicle but also as the answer to customer retention and churn mitigation. A Strategic Analytics report

titled “Multiplay Services Forecast” indicates that these bundled services are gaining in popularity in the United Kingdom.

The report provides analysis and subscriber forecasts for the period from 2010-2016 for double play, triple and quad play services in ten countries.

Currently most multiplay services are either “double play” or “triple play”. Quad play bundles are slowly gathering momentum and, in the course of the next five years, are bound to become very popular.

In fact, analysts believe that this can happen as soon as the end of 2011, when 613,000 U.K. subscribers opt for “quad play” services.

As of now, more than 50 percent of U.K. households take more than one service from the same service provider. This figure is slated to grow by 2016 when 67 percent of households will have multiplay services.

Ben Piper, director of the Strategy Analytics Multiplay Market Dynamics service and author of the report, said in a press release, “Survey research we’ve just fielded in the U.K. shows that quad play does provide a measurable amount of ‘churn insulation,’ or ‘stickiness.’ Customers who subscribe to four services from the same provider are less inclined to defect.”

Second quarter 2011 results from U.K. cable operator Virgin Media (News - Alert) apparently confirm these findings. It claims that where churn among “single play” subscribers was 36 percent, churn among its “quad play” subscribers was just six percent.

Strategy Analytics (News - Alert), Inc. provides timely and actionable market intelligence focused on opportunities and disruptive forces in the areas of entertainment, broadband connected home, mobile & wireless intelligent systems and more.