Vodafone Romania launches online TV service, partners with Netflix

Telecom group Vodafone launched on Friday the new video and music streaming service 4GTV+, and a new partnership for the Romanian market with Internet television network Netflix. “After launching Supernet 4G+, the network that enables future developments and innovation in customer experience, we are announcing today 4GTV+ service, which will allow our customers to consume personalized content anytime, anywhere. 4GTV+ provides our users with access to the most relevant local and global content in an innovative and intuitive way,” said Ravinder Takkar, President and CEO of Vodafone Romania. Vodafone's top competitors Orange Romania and Telekom Romania both have TV services, both online as well as through cable. However, Vodafone has decided to focus on online streaming as this is the growing at a fast pace. According to Ravider Takkar, more than half of the data traffic in the Vodafone Supernet 4G+ network comes from video streaming. The 4GTV+ service offers clients access to an extensive collection of TV channels, covering all types of content from news to entertainment, both local and international, as well as music and productions provided by partners such as Disney Channel, Disney Junior and Disney Channel On Demand, according to a statement from the company. The new app has several features such as the Restart and Rewind one, which lets users pause some of the live shows and play them later from that same moment on, or rewind to the beginning. There is also the Catch-up feature, which allows clients to watch a selection of the shows they missed while they were broadcasted live, for the following 72 hours. Users can also send some of the 4GTV+ content on TV screens and, in parallel, continue to use their phone for calls or any other actions without interrupting the video viewing. Moreover, through the new partnership with Netflix, the Vodafone clients will benefit from exclusive special offers. Vodafone clients who get the 4GTV+ service also get free access to Netflix content for three months. “Vodafone is a global partner for Netflix, and we are thrilled to expand this relationship to Romania today,” said Chris Whiteley, VP Business Development, EMEA, Netflix. The service is available to all Vodafone Romania users on smartphones and tablets by downloading the 4GTV+ app from App Store and Google Play. Postpaid users can benefit from the entire content provided by the service, which includes an exclusive gift subscription for three months of Netflix, for price plans starting from Red 19. The telecom company’s announcement comes less than a month after Vodafone launched its Supernet 4G+ internet service in Romania, which offers higher data download speeds for compatible smartphones. Netflix was officially launched in Romania in January this year. Vodafone Romania sees higher revenues as mobile internet traffic doubles