Telstra is set to roll out Fetch TV to millions of their customers as a replacement to the Roku Telstra TV which has according to many observers been a dismal failure for the big Telco who has had several attempts at trying to deliver a content service, since the early days of ‘BigPond’.
Despite owning 35% of Foxtel Telstra management chose to acquire a 51% stake in Fetch TV, which is an aggregator of content as opposed to a creator of content similar to Foxtel.
According to Fetch TV CEO Scott Lorson, the launch will kick off shortly with Telstra customers set to be given access to a box that has recently undergone a major software update.
Ironically, more than a third of Telstra customers already subscribe to Foxtel while a large number of Telstra mobile and NBN customers subscribe to Foxtel’s Kayo and Binge streaming services.
Fetch TV has two products called the Mighty and the Mini both are 4K streaming enabled and deliver access to a multitude of streaming apps.
Telstra’s decision to invest in Fetch TV and based on their 35% shareholding in the News Corp controlled Foxtel surprised analysts. Fetch TV is also available at this stage for Optus customers who ChannelNews understands could drop Fetch TV in favor of a 5G or NBN streaming service via an app.
According to Lorson, the move could add another 700,000 customers to the Fetch TV network that is also used by Optus to deliver a streaming service.
The rollout will be backed by a major marketing campaign.
Announcing the Fetch TV deal Telstra Group executive of product and technology, Kim Krogh Andersen, said Telstra TV launched in 2015 with a focus on bringing together a wide range of streaming services for our customers and today has around 800,000 active subscribers, operating on the Roku platform.
“While the current Telstra TV product remains popular, the underlying technology platform needs to evolve to support a deeper level of engagement through content offers, account management and rewards through Telstra Plus. It also needs to support future entertainment options and be delivered via the hardware options customers want including Smart TVs,” he said.
Telstra has had several attempts at getting traction for their Roku TV offering.
After an initial attempt A Roku offering was relaunched in 2017, the device went on sale for $109 or if you sign up to one of Telstra’s internet bundles you got the device for free.
At the time US streaming player Roku, which Telstra held the exclusive rights to, developed specialized software and hardware for the new Telstra TV.
ChannelNews understands that the ending of a contract between Roku and Telstra facilitated the move to invest in the Fetch TV offering.
