James R | On 18, Jul 2015

TalkTalk is offering free Netflix to new TV customer for six months.

The deal, which expires on Wednesday 23rd July, will give new customers a voucher by email that can be redeemed on the subscription VOD service by the end of August 2015. Netflix recently raised its price to £7.49 per month to cover the costs of expansion and content production and licensing. The streaming giant announced this week that it now has over 65 million members worldwide.

While traditional pay TV services could see Netflix as a threat, a large number of them have embraced the service as an optional add-on to their contract packages: Virgin was the first to incorporate Netflix on its set top boxes as an app, while BT allows TV customers to include Netflix within their monthly BT bill.

The rivalry in the pay TV sector, though, is fierce, with BT and Sky both competing for football rights to woo sports fans. Additional, premium channels often cost an additional amount, so incentives such as six months’ free Netflix (worth £44.94) can make a difference in attracting viewers: once signed up, pay TV providers are then guaranteed a customer’s payments for at least 12 months.

According to TalkTalk, the Plus TV deal (which includes six Sky entertainment channels, a YouView+ box that offers access to Freeview catch-up services, such as iPlayer and All4, plus unlimited broadband and anytime calls) will make the company’s TV package £280 cheaper than BT over 18 months. Line rental costs an additional £16.70 a month.

Research from uSwitch last year found that British viewers spend almost £400 a year on pay-TV, but only watch a fraction of what they pay for.

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