Optus And Disney Team Up

Optus (the number two telco in Australia) has signed a wide-ranging content deal with Disney. The deal will mainly offer free Disney content to Optus’ broadband customers, but there is some content to be made available to the telcos mobile customers as well (some reports say 3G, others say Optus Zoo which is a 2.5G offering). “Content will also include a massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG) and other gaming content for use on Optus 3G mobiles…Optus mobile customers would however be charged for mobile content such as ring tones, video clips and wallpaper, said Mark Handler Disney Internet Group executive VP and MD, at CeBIT in Sydney.”
According to Optus the difference in cost isn’t due to the fact that people are more willing to pay for mobile content, but because the broadband content is intended to attract customers to the service and Optus doesn’t think it will attract 3G customers. “At this stage, 3G users tend to be in the early adopters phase and are not necessarily after Disney content for their phones.” It’s also part of Optus’ “tri-vergent strategy” which aims at “driving adoption of, and promoting content across, its broadband, mobile and pay-tv businesses”.
The Daily Telegraph took another tack, claiming that the move paved the way for a Disney MVNO in Australia…or at least “a family-friendly mobile phone service”. Both Optus and Disney declined to comment on this, and the supposition is based on the current deal plus Disney’s moves in the US and UK.
Related stories:
Disney To Launch MVNO In UK
From CTIA: Disney Mobile: Interview, Steve Wadsworth, President, Walt Disney Internet Group
@ CTIA: Disney Mobile Announcement Is “Mickey Mouse”

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