Optus sweetens play for Netflix-hungry Australians

Still from Marvel's Daredevil, a Netflix exclusive. Credit: Netflix

Telstra's competitors continue to latch onto the arrival of Netflix in Australia, with Optus announcing six free months of the service included with some of its mobile and broadband plans.

To get the deal, customers must sign up from 24 March until 5 July for Optus home broadband bundles costing $60 or more on a two-year contract; a postpaid mobile service costing $60 or more for two years; or a postpaid mobile broadband service on a $30 or more for two years.

In addition, prepaid customers can get a three-month subscription to Netflix when they purchase any prepaid phone or mobile broadband device and activate the included SIM.

Netflix launches in Australia on 24 March. In the lead up, the global giant in video streaming has been signing a flurry of deals with ISPs that compete with Telstra, the number one telco in Australia.

Optus announced earlier this month that its fixed home broadband customers will be able to stream as much Netflix content as they want without eating into their monthly data allowance. The same offer is available to iiNet customers.

Last month, Netflix and Fetch TV signed a deal to include Netflix as an integrated app when Netflix launches next month. Fetch TV is available from iiNet, Optus and Dodo.

Telstra is a part owner of Foxtel and has put all its energy behind that company’s competing subscription video service, Presto. Telstra recently signed an agreement to resell Presto to its customers.

“We know that while many Australians prefer to watch their favourite TV show or the latest movies from the comfort of their home, they also want portable content for their smartphones,” Optus CEO Allen Lew said.

“With our subscription offer, we’re giving customers all the entertainment they need in the one place, and the freedom to watch what they want, when they want it.”

Lew last year had hinted that the telco will announce deals with content providers.

Meanwhile, Vodafone, the number three telco in Australia, has said it will soon announce a deal with a video provider as it seeks to expand its content partnerships.

Adam Bender covers telco and enterprise tech issues for Computerworld and is the author of dystopian sci-fi novels We, The Watched and Divided We Fall. Follow him on Twitter: @WatchAdam

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