Telstra confirmed it has bought a 51% stake in Fetch TV for $50 million.
The deal, reported by the Sydney Morning Herald, will see the telecommunications giant use the content aggregation platform for its Telstra TV product, which has 800,000 active subscribers, and progressively migrate to Fetch TV, which has around 670,000 active subscribers.
The publication noted that Telstra TV currently operates on a US platform Roku, however their deal is set to expire.
Fetch TV, which has been a long-term content provider for rival companies Optus and Vocus, made $10 million in earnings in the last financial year, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
The platform was launched in 2008 by Malaysian telco Astro. It does not fund its own original content, like streaming services such as Stan, Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video, instead it syndicates content and apps in one place so consumers can navigate between free-to-air and subscriptions.
Fetch TV has three styles of its box available for consumers to buy – the Mini ($169), Mini 4K ($189) and the Mighty ($499) – or available as an add-on to internet packages with Optus, Aussie Broadband and Vocus’ iPrimus.
Scott Lorson, Fetch TV CEO, who has been at the helm of the company for the past 13 years, said: “This investment from Telstra will allow Fetch TV to accelerate growth and deliver a genuinely competitive Australian home and entertainment solution.
“Fetch has a hard-earned reputation for localisation, innovation and partnership, and today’s announcement will ensure a bright future for our subscribers, content partners, our emerging advertising partners and, importantly, for our telco and retail distribution partners,” he added, as reported by TV Tonight.
Scott Lorson
Kim Krogh Andersen, Telstra Group executive of product and technology, said: “Telstra TV has been successful and popular in Australian homes as it provides a simple way to discover and watch content from streaming services and free-to-air, and is a key platform for Foxtel streaming services, Kayo, Binge and Flash.
“While the current Telstra TV product remains popular, the underlying technology platform needs to evolve to support a deeper level of engagement through content offers, account management and rewards through Telstra Plus. It also needs to support future entertainment options and be delivered via the hardware options customers want including Smart TVs.
“After a strategic review of our options, we have selected Fetch TV for its ability to deliver this functionality at scale for our customers, given Fetch’s software development capability, innovative roadmap and strong track record delivering capability for other Australian telco partners.”
Krogh Andersen said: “Becoming a trusted partner in the home remains an important growth opportunity for Telstra. As homes become more digitally connected, the integration of that technology – including the Smart Modem, smart meter and a platform for streaming media which can also be used for AR, VR and the metaverse – will become even more critical.
“While they all do different things, if they can work together seamlessly, it will help enable customers to get the most out of their connectivity. That’s why Telstra is investing in an ‘open’ technology platform and for us to have access to an onshore team who can deliver on a relevant product roadmap for Telstra and telcos,” he added.