Starting next month, the catch-up TV service SBS on Demand will be available on the T-box, Telstra’s digital set-top box.
The T-Box functions as a PVR as well as providing access some optional Foxtel channels and free-to-air channels, but for the most part it’s designed around being a delivery vehicle for Telstra’s BigPond Movies service.
In a media release, Telstra’s Director of IPTV and Pay TV Eric Kearley said that the partnership with SBS was part of an “ongoing plan” to provide more FTA content via the T-Box.
“This partnership with SBS opens up a great deal of fantastic content to our customers, available on-demand after its broadcast, said Kearley.”We are working on adding more free-to-air catch up services to the T-Box which we hope to announce soon.”
The SBS app will be situated under a new “Catch Up TV” menu available from the main T-Box menu.
Of late, SBS has been focusing on digital delivery of content. It was the first Australian broadcaster to launch a HbbTV service, beating the official launch of Freeview Plus by a number of months.
According to Marshall Heald, the chief digital officer at SBS, On Demand is now “available on more platforms that any other broadcaster”.