Key Points
- Mobile Vikings has become the latest telecommunications provider to launch a subscription platform powered by Bango’s Digital Vending Machine.
- The platform targets digital-savvy demographics by consolidating third-party app management and offering bill discounts to reduce the complexity of juggling multiple recurring payments.
- The new subscription hub integrates directly into the My Vikings portal, enabling younger users to manage and pay for diverse digital services through a single contract-free broadband account.
Belgian telecommunications firm Mobile Vikings has partnered with Bango to launch a new subscription management platform powered by the tech developer’s Digital Vending Machine, the companies announced on Thursday.
The new subscription hub will allow customers of Mobile Vikings to add, manage and bundle various types of services, including streaming video apps and other products, which are charged to the same bill as their wireless and home Internet plans.
The platform will be integrated into the My Vikings customer portal, with subscribers now able to buy access to a “leading streaming service,” which wasn’t named in a press release on the announcement. (A sign-up page on Mobile Vikings’ website says customers save €2 per month when they activate a subscription to Disney Plus, a strong implication that is the streaming service.)
“Our Vikings are digital natives: They juggle multiple subscriptions every day and know how much of a hassle it can be to keep track,” said David Van Eynde, the Managing Director at Mobile Vikings. “By bringing those subscriptions together in one place through My Viking, with the added bonus of a discount on their bill for every active service, we’re taking that complexity off their hands.”
Proximus Group, which operates Mobile Vikings, has built the brand around flexible, contract-free mobile phone and home broadband plans that are targeted to younger, digital-savvy subscribers. The new hub launched this week is intended to simplify how its subscribers manage services while positioning Mobile Vikings as a central gateway for third-party apps that complement its broadband offerings.
“Mobile Vikings has a strong focus on younger audiences, who expect subscriptions to feel personal, flexible and relevant,” said Bango CEO Paul Larbey. “By using the Digital Vending Machine from Bango, Mobile Vikings can bring subscriptions together in a single hub while tailoring their offering for different demographics.”
Mobile Vikings is the latest telecommunications company to partner with Bango on a subscription management platform. Other service providers that use the Digital Vending Machine to power their subscription platforms include Verizon, Optus, Dish Network and Optimum. Marketing materials previously reviewed by The Desk point to partnerships with other companies like Comcast and Charter, though the companies haven’t confirmed their involvement with the technology.
Last year, Bango launched a new version of its Digital Vending Machine that allowed any company to launched and deploy a subscription management platform using pre-built, white-label tools. That tool, called Digital Vending Machine CX, includes connections to streaming apps like Netflix, Disney Plus, NordPass and YouTube Premium, among others.
The Digital Vending Machine also allows service providers to create custom bundles for their customers, which offer the convenience of having multiple services billed to a single account. Those bundles can also save customers money on popular apps and services compared to their individual retail cost.
Bundles have become an important way for digital services to maintain subscribers, especially as popular services like streaming apps raise prices on consumers. Nearly a quarter of Americans surveyed by Bango said they are spending more on streaming apps and digital services than they can afford, and that number rises to 41 percent when counting Generation Z consumers alone.
Digital services are typically offered at a lower price when they are purchased through a bundle, compared to the individual cost of each service. For example, Comcast’s StreamSaver bundle offers Netflix ($9 per month), Apple TV ($13 per month) and Peacock Premium ($11 per month) at a single price of $18 per month when paired with Xfinity Internet or Xfinity TV service, or 45 percent off the combined retail price of each service purchased individually. Earlier this month, Comcast rolled out new StreamSaver options that also include the Disney-Hulu package and HBO Max; access to all five apps costs $35 per month, or 39 percent lower than the individual cost of each service purchased on its own.
