Telstra switches on Foxtel for T-Box

Foxtel comes to the T-Box

Delivering on an announcement earlier this year, Telstra T-Box owners will be able to subscribe to Foxtel pay TV from the end of the month without the need for a separate device.

Back in February Telstra announced it will offer Foxtel on T-Box through IP-TV in a similar way it is delivered to Xbox game consoles.

From Sunday June 26, T-Box customers will be able to access to up to 30 Foxtel channels, including some catch-up TV channels, including FOX8, Discovery and Movie One. The basic starter service, with 11 channels, costs $19.50 a month.

Entertainment, sport and movie packages are priced from $10 to $15 per month. T-Box users can subscribe to Foxtel on a monthly basis and are not locked into any contracts, however, bundled contracts which include Foxtel along side phone and Internet services will also be on offer.

Customers can add Foxtel on T-Box to their bundle package with some packages offering a discount of $10 per month, taking the price down to $9.50 per month.

This first stage of Foxtel on T-Box is limited to BigPond Cable subscribers, but is scheduled to be rolled out to the ADSL broadband network over the coming months, according to Telstra’s executive director of media, J-B Rousselot.

Like BigPond’s existing IP-TV channels Foxtel on T-Box is unmetered.

“Foxtel on T-Box is the same as regular Foxtel and delivered in the same way as Foxtel on Xbox,” Rousselot said, adding there is still a place for the high-end Foxtel iQ PVR service.

Foxtel on T-Box doesn’t do program recording, but programs can be marked for later viewing through the integrated catch-up TV service.

“By using catch-up TV customers don’t need to download or record programs on their T-Box because the programs a streamed from the Cloud. This saves space on the T-box,” Rousselot said.

The Get Started package (11 channels) is $19.50; Sport (four channels) is $10; Entertainment (11 channels) $15; Movie Network (two streaming channels, eight catch up) $15; and Showtime Movies (two streaming channels, seven catch up) is $15 a month.

The Foxtel promotional channels were pushed out to T-Boxes in a software update a few months ago and another update will be sent to enable the channels to Foxtel subscribers – including the same channel numbering scheme as regular Foxtel.

Foxtel executive director of product and sales, Patrick Delany, said it is simple to sign up online and start watching streaming TV.

“The Foxtel on T-Box TV packages are incredibly flexible and offer catch-up TV so you can watch your favourite shows when it suits you,” Delany said.

Regular broadcast TV services will continue to operate as usual through the T-Box. Telstra won’t be transmitting free-to-air services through IP, but the representatives did say the concept is possible and could be made available in the future on IP-enables devices like the T-Box.

Foxtel on T-Box is available to residents in metropolitan areas, but not in the Northern Territory or Tasmania.

Follow Rodney Gedda on Twitter: @rodneygedda

Follow TechWorld Australia on Twitter: @Techworld_AU

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