Austrian mobile network operator Hutchison Drei Austria has launched an OTT multiscreen platform.
3TV is made available through an app. “Apps are the future of television. With 3TV, the television of the future makes its debut in Austria,” Jan Trionow, CEO of Drei, said at the presentation of the platform.
The 3TV app is available for all major smart TV brands, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Google Chromecast, smartphones and tablets (iOS/Android). For PCs and laptops, browser-based access is offered.
At launch, the 3TV package contains 40 TV channels of which seven are provided in HD quality. The line-up comprises all large public and commercial TV channels from Austria, Germany and Switzerland.
Viewers can record the programmes of all channels through a cloud-based virtual video recorder and watch them up to seven days following their broadcast.
3TV costs €7.90 per month and can be cancelled monthly. The first month is free of charge. With an account, 3TV can be used on two devices in parallel.
The user has to be a post-paid or pre-paid Drei customer to activate 3TV via mobile phone. For the actual streaming, the networks of all Austrian internet providers can be used, for example ADSL, cable internet or Wi-Fi hotspots.
Further features will be added in early 2017, for example live TV pausing, instant restart and a video-on-demand service with movies, series and documentaries.
Hutchison Drei Austria operating under the B2C brand Drei is Austria’s third-largest mobile network provider. The company, a 100% subsidiary of Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings, reached a turnover of €373 million in the first six months of 2016 and serves around 3.8 million customers.
