Committed to taking on Sky over premium movie rights, Netflix has taken another step forward in its attempts to take on the media giant with the news that it has partnered with free satellite TV service Freesat, providing access to unlimited films and TV shows via the company’s set-top boxes.
The Telegraph preempted the official announcement, which is set for tomorrow, but is light on how the partnership will work out. However, just the addition of dedicated Netflix portal on a Freesat box is likely to tempt consumers to try out the service, given the fact it offers a free one-month trial.
Netflix’s decision to embed its service on Freesat boxes is a direct play at impacting Sky’s dominance over the paid movie market. Currently, consumers are able to sign-up for Sky Movies, an additional movie package on both Sky’s own service but also third-party offerings including Virgin Media.
With Netflix available on Freesat, the company will hope that the temptation of free TV shows and a low £6-per-month fee will be an attractive alternative to customers.
Freesat has a relatively small footprint in the UK, attracting less than 3 million customers. Netflix has over 1 million subscribers in the UK, and will seek to rapidly expand its total when the partnership becomes official.
[Image Credit: yvonsita]