Optus has announced a global-first partnership with National Geographic, launching the iconic brand’s new app and confirming plans to develop Australian content for the platform.
Calling content a core part of their business, Optus CEO Allen Lew says that “today is a really significant day for all of us.”
“We want to change the image of a teleco,” he says.
Describing a journey that started with the telcos acquisition of the rights to the English Premier League sports coverage, the telecommunications giant say that it has now come up “with content that reaches out to every single Australian.”
“Australian consumer needs for consumption have changed significantly,” he says. He emphasises the empowerment of the customer to decide when and where to consume content and the need for content-providers to develop platforms that can personalise the customer experience.
Lew argues that National Geographic is just the right brand to cater to those needs.
According to him, the new partnership “takes us from just providing video content to providing truly multimedia content.”
The new app promises to bring together the brand’s 129 year archive of articles, photos and more recent video content – making it all available to those on-the-go. At least, eventually.
At launch, the app features all National Geographic magazine editions starting from January 2009 plus the original 1888 first edition. It’ll also pull from all local and international NatGeo articles published online from January 2014.
Further content is expected to be rolled in over time, including original Australian articles and video content.
While some content will be exclusive to Optus customers, they say the above will be “not just for Australians but for the world.”
The photos section of the app will pull directly from both the 28,000 strong National Geographic library and the brand’s Instagram feed, which they claim is the second most popular brand on the popular social media platform.
The app will also launch with over 5000 long-form video experiences alongside 1500 shorter ones. It’ll also bundle in access to the National Geographic and Nat Geo Wild TV channels.
What’s more, content accessed through the app won’t infringe upon the data allowance of Optus customers.
New, existing and recontracting Optus My Plan Plus/Flex and My Plan Business/Flex customers on handset plans $40 and above will have acess to the app at no extra cost.
The National Geographic app is now to download and try for free for Optus customers from this week.
