Optus finally plays Fetch

After over a year of denials, Optus has finally confirmed that it will be working with Malaysian billionaire Ananda Krishnan’s IPTV outfit FetchTV.

FetchTV has been in negotiations with Optus for over two years to develop an IPTV service for the carrier’s network. It is understood that Optus was under pressure from parent Singtel to launch the latter's MIO TV into Australia, but technical difficulties and competitive pressure from Telstra and Foxtel forced the carrier’s hand.

Since officially launching last year, wholesaler FetchTV has signed up iiNet, Internode and Westnet as retail providers. Adam Internet has been trialling the service since October.

The Optus partnership is key to FetchTV’s Australian growth strategy, and could kick-start its planned expansion through the Asia-Pacific over the next few years.

The Optus service is slated to launch in the second half of the year, and will go to market with integrated mobile functionality for smartphones and tablet devices.

FetchTV CEO Scott Lorson said the past three years have been spent developing both its IPTV platform and its content catalogue.

“Partnering with an operator of Optus’ scale, brand and reputation is a significant milestone for FetchTV and we look forward to working with Optus to launch a unique and compelling entertainment service,” he said.

Pricing and specific details of the Optus service will be available closer to launch. ®