Telstra gives customers more entertainment as the Australian streaming revolution moves to the small screen

Media Release

18 August 2016

Telstra gives customers more entertainment as the Australian streaming revolution moves to the small screen

Telstra predicts that downtime will become the new primetime, with Australian’s sport and TV consumption habits merging big screen experiences onto the small screen.

New research reveals mobile video streaming is growing at more than 30 per cent a year and on-demand TV, sports and music is changing when and where Australians watch their favourite entertainment.

To help customers make the most of the mobile streaming revolution, from Tuesday 23 August Telstra will:

• Include a three-month subscription to all three leading streaming video providers Netflix, Stan and Presto on selected mobile plans.
• Telstra mobile plan customers can now enjoy Apple Music with data-free music streaming which means listening to all your favourite songs, albums and playlists without tapping into their data allowance and
• Launch a new app that makes it easy to discover all the sports and entertainment content included in Telstra mobile plans.

Michele Garra, Executive Director Media, said the addition of the streaming subscriptions and data-free Apple Music to Telstra’s entertainment suite further highlighted the great value available to Telstra mobile customers.

“Telstra mobile customers can now get Netflix, Stan and Presto, unmetered Apple Music and free access to live NRL or AFL, Netball and Basketball, providing an unmatched mobile entertainment experience,” Ms Garra said.

“Australians have embraced streaming video services like Netflix in their lounge rooms and we are now seeing that appetite translate to phones and tablets outside the home.

“As an example, network traffic surges during the morning and afternoon commute suggesting two new prime-time periods are emerging, as people discover how easy it to continue watching their favourite shows on the go.”

Ms Garra said to make it easier for customers to discover the full range of entertainment options available to them as part of their plan Telstra is introducing the Telstra TV+ app for mobiles.

“We want our customers to have a simple way to redeem the offers available to them as part of their mobile plan. We know our customers love exploring what’s new and trending. The Telstra TV+ app allows our customers to search over 25,000 movies and TV shows across Stan, Presto and BigPond Movies and also acts as a mobile remote for their Telstra TV.”

Ms Garra also said over the past 12 months Telstra has invested billions of dollars to expand mobile capacity and 4G coverage in anticipation of Australia’s growing appetite for small screen entertainment.

“Our focus on network quality has seen us boost data speeds for 4G customers by 20 per cent over the course of the last 12 months, making Australia’s fastest mobile network even better for streaming live sports and entertainment.”

Telstra Mobile Network:

• Telstra’s mobile network is largest in Australia, covering more than 2.4 million square kilometres and reaching 99.3% of the Australian population.
• It serves hundreds of thousands of square kilometres of regional and rural Australia not served by any other carrier. And the introduction of 4GX also means Telstra customers have access to one of the world’s fastest mobile networks.
• On weekdays, we see a spike in video usage on the network during traditional commuter times, with spikes between 8 am and 9 am and again in the afternoon from 5 pm to 6 pm.

Mobile consumer behaviour:

• All live games on the AFL and NRL apps will continue to be unmetered for Telstra mobile customers for the rest of the 2016 footy season.

• Now our entertainment is just as accessible on smartphones and tablets, it’s leading to some unlikely places and behaviours from people streaming on the go:

• Streaming is not a sit-still and standalone activity with one in four (27%) participants multi-tasking when streaming music and video at work (11%), the gym (5%), when walking (7%), in the car (10%) and on public transport (15%).

• Aussies also admit to streaming in the bath, when camping, in a row boat, at weddings and even hiding in cupboards at work.
• And we’re getting a little distracted with one in 10 confessing to missing work, walking into something or burning the dinner when streaming.

Top 5 Olympic moments based on our network traffic:

• Men’s Prelim Basketball – AUS v USA – 25% of total mobile network traffic
• Men’s 100m final sprint – 24% of total mobile network traffic
• Women’s 100m freestyle swimming final – 18% of total mobile network traffic
• Rugby women’s final Australia vs New Zealand – 19% of total mobile network traffic
• Men’s 100m freestyle swim final – 13% of total mobile network traffic

AFL/NRL:

• The average live audience per premiership game has increased by 65% compared to 2015 season.
• Australians have watched over 2 million hours this season, an increase of 76% compared to 2015 season.
• The average live audience per premiership game has increased by 184% compared to 2015 season.
• Australians watched over 1.6 million hours this season, an increase of 63% compared to 2015 season.