Telstra extends streaming service with launch of Telstra TV
Telstra has announced that it will be partnering with streaming platform Roku in a bid to launch Telstra TV, a streaming service specifically for Australians.
In a deleted blog post, now live, Telstra said from September, customers will be able to access Netflix, Presto, and Stan, as well as a selection of TV catch-up services and new release moves from BigPond Movies on the new service.
Bringing Roku -- which is currently sold in the US, Canada, and UK -- to Australia will see Telstra TV compete directly with devices such as the Google Chromecast and Apple TV.
Telstra said that launching Telstra TV will add to the company's existing entertainment services, which include TBox and Foxtel, and that it will service the growing demand for video content in Australia.
"Rather than restrict our customers' choices, we want to host all the popular streaming video services on our platforms and make it easy for them to get all the content they want in the one place," the company said.
"We want our customers to have access to all the popular streaming video services on our platforms and make it easy for them to get all the content they want in the one place."
Telstra said pricing and specifics around content and the streaming player will be made available closer to launch.
During the CommsDay Summit earlier this year, Telstra's chief operations officer Kate McKenzie said that Telstra had been managing its own network traffic for the arrival of Netflix and other streaming services, including Presto and Stan, but admitted that the company would need to think of "new business models" to repay investments made in networks to cope with video demand.
"Rapid growth in the quantity and quality of video means investment to meet that increasing demand," she said.
"We will need product offers and business models that manage what customers want."