Telstra has installed 17,000 T Boxes in six weeks making it the most successful launch ever of a personal video recorder.
According to CEO David Thodey, the T Box is a now key product in Telstra’s arsenal of new products which he claims is essential if Telstra is to be transformed from a” network company” to a products and marketing company.
Yesterday Telstra reported a decline in both profits and revenues with mobiles and data sales being the only bright spot on the horizon for the carrier who is facing a battle as consumers dump home phones for mobiles.
Telstra has already sold 50,000 T Hubs, which is their new video display handset which bundled with a combination of fixed line and broadband capability has been launched in an effort to stymie the decline in fixed line sales.
According to Thodey the T Box is primarily being sold direcly by Telstra with some units now being sold via JB Hi Fi stores however senior management at Telstra are looking to expand sales via both the mass channel and specialist dealers.
Last week OzTAM reported that 33 percent of Australians now own a digital PVR. In comparison the TiVo digital video recorder, which is being marketed in Australia by Seven Media Group, sold less than 5,000 in the first 3 months that it went on sale.
Hybrid Television Services who sell the TiVo have also struggled to attract consumers for their TiVo unit due to price, ($699 for a TiVo unit Vs $299 for a Telstra T Box) both units come with 320GB hard drives and the ability to attach an additional hard drive.
According to Thodey Telstra will shortly announce additional content for the T Box including Foxtel content as well as new movie content.
“The T Box is an important part of Telstra product offering, content is the future and we are confident that we will be a major player in the entertainment market”. Said Thodey.
In other announcements Telstra said that fixed internet revenue declined by 0.7 percent to $2,144 million as more than 19,000 people moved away from a fixed broadband connection to a wireless modem a move that will please the Opposition who is currently pushing a wireless offering for broadband.
