iiNet and Fetch TV have teamed up to take on Foxtel and Telstra’s Big Pond Movie Service with a new $30 a month, unmetered subscription service that includes a set-top box.
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The FetchTV service is limited to normal free-to-air digital TV channels and subscription channels. Users will have to pay an additional fee for HD movies.
FetchTV claim that their service will be available via Australian ISP in direct competition to Foxtel and Telstra.
The CEO of FetchTV, Scott Lorson, said, “FetchTV is an entirely new breed of entertainment proposition, designed to meet the needs of the 70 percent of Australian households who have elected not to take up existing subscription TV services.
“FetchTV brings together the full selection of FTA channels, the best of subscription-TV, the most popular interactive and social media applications, and access to new release PPV movies, all for less than $1 per day. The programming will be unmetered, meaning customers will be watching their favourite shows, not their download limits.
“iiNet is one of Australia’s leading ISPs and is recognised as a true innovator in broadband communications. iiNet has been a strong industry advocate for the development of a wholesale subscription-TV aggregation model, and has been a key collaborator in the development of the FetchTV service. We are very proud to have iiNet as a foundation partner, and are delighted that they will be the first to introduce FetchTV to the Australian market.”
Michael Malone, CEOof iiNet, said, “This is what our customers have been telling us they are looking for. The solution we’ve developed with FetchTV will change the subscription-TV market in Australia for the better, as well as allowing customers to move painlessly to digital FTA TV.
“We have seriously considered the full range of options and the FetchTV solution is clearly the best. We feel very confident in launching this service against what’s currently on offer in the subscription TV market.
Of the decision for iiNet to launch an IPTV service, Michael added, “We know we have the service credentials, the technical and network capability and now, in this partnership with FetchTV, we have a killer set top box packed with killer content.”
Among the channels being made available via Fetch TV are the Discovery Networks, National Geographic, MTV Networks, Fox International Channels, E! Entertainment Television, BBC World News, CNBC, ABC, Roadshow Entertainment, Disney Media Distribution, MGM, and Lionsgate. Additional content partnerships will be announced in coming weeks. Most of these channels are already available via Foxtel.
FetchTV claim that programming will be available as traditional linear channels or via comprehensive video on demand (VOD) libraries for popular genres such as kids, news, movies, science fiction, documentaries, biographies and general entertainment.
The FetchTV basic package will include at least 20 channels and genre based VOD libraries for viewing at any time for no extra cost, the full range of free-to-air digital channels, access to a PPV new-release movie library, as well as interactive applications. Subscribers wishing to add to the great range of content in the basic service, will also have access to additional channels and VOD libraries on an “a la carte” or tiered basis, meaning that customers will only pay for what they want.
The Australian foreign language market will also be well catered for with comprehensive packages of foreign language channels designed to meet the unique needs of Australia’s nearly one million households who speak a language other than English at home.
Lorson continued: “Our open platform will allow partners, be they content providers, free-to-air networks, interactive applications developers, or ISPs to deliver compelling content and services to the TV screen. We are creating an ecosystem that will promote new levels of innovation and competition in the market, and allow our ISP partners to introduce exciting new services to Australian consumers.”
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