EE, the UK’s largest operator, is set to launch a range of features which, it says, will confirm its TV service as the country’s only ‘mobile-first’ offering.

The new and updated features for the EE TV app enable personalisation and social sharing through mobile devices, and are available from next week (25 August).

Multiplay is increasingly important to operators, not just for creating a bundle of services with a single price, but to develop new types of service that combine TV, mobile and broadband.

Among the new features on EE’s app is Fetch, which allows subscribers to bring content from their main TV screen directly to their mobile device, so they can leave the room where they are watching TV and continue to watch the same content on their smartphone or tablet. Fetch is complementary to the existing Flick feature, which enables users to send content from their mobile device to the TV by swiping its screen.

Another new feature of the app is Companion Screen, which enables users to control the content they are watching from their mobile device, including playback and volume controls, as well as a scrolling progress bar. The feature also provides a variety of additional information. The new feature is available for all content, except apps and on-demand programming.

For the first time, the app includes a Share button, available via the Companion screen, which enables users to share details of what they are watching through a range of social media.

There is also a new My TV section on the app which enables the user to personalise their TV watching. It is divided into three sections: My Programmes, My Channels, and My Photos & Videos. The first two sections allow each user to choose their favourite TV shows or channels, and identify exactly what content is available for them.

In addition to live programming, the feature will also give instant access to any recordings of the user’s favourites, as well as sorting content by watched/unwatched, channel, alphabetical, date and category. With My Photos & Videos, users can view all the content they have stored on their mobile device via the EE TV app. They can then use the Flick feature to send it to their TV.

EE, which is in the process of being acquired by BT, launched its TV service in autumn last year. How the service is integrated post-acquisition is unclear. BT has a strong content strategy of its own, which is currently focused on offering sports coverage, particularly football, to its fixed broadband base. Significant rivals in the quadplay space include Sky, Virgin Media and Vodafone.