Free TV, but not for long

Telecom is extending its free mobile TV offering for two months to enable an influx of new customers to sample the offering.

“We have a large number of new customers coming on board over the Christmas period and want to ensure they have the opportunity to enjoy Mobile TV on XT for free too,” says Telecom mobile PR manager Rebecca Earl.

She won’t disclose how many are signing up to XT, nor how many existing customers have viewed the free mobile TV product since it was launched in September this year.

“We’re keeping those numbers close to our chest for commercial reasons, but we’ve had fantastic uptake from customers who are coming back to view content regularly,” Earl says.

All content is streamed to the mobile device, which means customers can’t download content and save it to their device. From 1 February they will have to pay via two different methods – either a subscription for $9.99 a month or $2.50 a week (roughly in line with competitor Vodafone), or pay 50c to $1.50 to view a short clip.

BBC shows Top Gear, Dr Who, The Office, Extras and Little Britain are now available, in addition to content from TVNZ and Mediaworks.