If you’re a Fetch TV customer with a 2nd-gen Fetch TV box, which launched in February 2013 and ‘represents the vast majority’ of Fetch’s 170,000 plus installed base, you’ll soon be able to sign up for Netflix and watch it fetchingly.
Gen-1 Fetch TV box owners won’t get the Netflix niceness, however, so they’ll either have to upgrade their Fetch boxes or watch some other way, of which there are many - games consoles, smart devices, computers and more.
It’s not a free inclusion - you’ll still have to pay Netflix its monthly fee, but if you’re a Fetch TV customer, you won’t need to fiddly with those other viewing options just to watch Netflix content on the TV your Fetch box is already connected to.
However, if you do want to watch Netflix on other TVs or devices in the home or elsewhere while someone is watching via Fetch TV, you’ll presumably have to pay slightly more per month to enable that as it the case with the US Netflix service and pricing.
Bill Holmes, head of business development at Netflix said: “As we surveyed the Australian market, Netflix was impressed by the Fetch TV service, unique business model, and the committed coalition of Telco partners.
“By partnering with Fetch TV, we are making it easy for TV fans and movie lovers to watch Netflix on their televisions.”
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Fetch TV’s CEO, Scott Lorson said: “Working with our ISP partners, iiNet, Optus and Dodo, Fetch TV has established itself as a disruptive force in the Australian entertainment market.
“We have done this by offering a differentiated and compelling entertainment experience, at a very attractive price point.”
“Today’s announcement represents a significant milestone for Fetch TV and our partners, and a very exciting development for our 170,000 plus customers.
“Netflix is the clear world leader in online entertainment, with a powerful brand, compelling content, and an unparalleled reputation for innovation and disruption. Netflix perfectly complements the Fetch TV service.
“We are now able to offer Australian consumers a world-class integrated entertainment offering at unprecedented value.”
The Netflix and Fetch TV deal also includes New Zealand, which Fetch TV says it plans to expand into. For those who have been living under a rock or have been glued to a rival pay TV service, or perhaps even non-paid television services via ‘illegal’ streams or torrents of data, Fetch TV is a Foxtel pay-TV competitor.
It supplies you with a set-top box that gives you ‘up to’ 38 subscription channels, lets you record free-to-air TV channels, access catch-up TV services and play videos through apps like YouTube for TV.
The Fetch box has a 1TB hard drive, 3 digital tunes, an in-built video store with 4000 movies and delivered via a broadband connection.
So … the streaming TV revolution has truly hit Australia at long last in 2015, with Presto, Stan, Netflix and others all fighting for your $10 or so per month.
The only question left besides which one you choose is … do you like to watch?