Harvey Norman has signed an exclusive deal to sell a low cost $379 one terabyte Fetch TV set top box that has a superior interface to Foxtel and has been praised by reviewers.
Harvey Norman scored the deal over other retailers because they were able to deliver “fast broadband” to their stores said Scott Lorson the CEO of Fetch TV.
Consumers who buy the new box will get a $5 a month subscription offer. Foxtel currently charge between $65 and 120 for their subscription services.
“Having a functional kiosk that was linked to a fast broadband network was important to us as we needed to demonstrate the superior functions that Fetch TV is capable of delivering” said Lorson.
Harvey Norman believe that they can sell 130,000 of the new Fetch TV boxes which are set to put pressure on the sale of Topfield and Humax boxes currently sold by Harvey Norman.
The box which goes on sale tomorrow has previously been available as part of a product ?bundle through Optus, iiNet and four other ISP’s.
Harvey Norman audio visual product and marketing manager Nigel Dent said that the Fetch TV box was superior to other personal video recorders (PVRs) on the market.
Dent told the Financial Review that the deal took several months to negotiate but were helped along by the fact that Harvey Norman chief executive officer Gerry Harvey was already acquainted with Fetch TV’s reclusive Malaysian-born billionaire backer, Tatparanandam Ananda Krishnan, with both men sharing a ?passion for horses.
