BT to offer free YouView box from October

BT has confirmed that it will offer a free YouView box to new subscribers to its BT Infinity high-speed broadband service from October 26.

The UK telco is one of seven launch partners for YouView, the UK’s connected TV service that launched in July. It will offer new Infinity customers signing a 12-month contract a free Humax YouView box that currently retails for up to £299 (€373). New customers that are not in an Infinity area will be able to claim a free box if they sign up to the TV Essential package, which starts at £4 per month.

Existing BT broadband customers will be able to upgrade to YouView for a one-off fee of £49.

The deal mirrors that of rival telco and fellow YouView partner Talk Talk, which is currently offering a free YouView box to its Plus customers.

BT’s YouView service will offer access to the BT Vision VOD service, alongside the regular YouView services including video players from the UK’s free-to-air broadcasters and BSkyB’s movie streaming service NowTV.

According to reports last week, BT had intended to launch its YouView service using boxes from Pace but concerns that the boxes had not met its requirements meant it turned to Humax boxes. BT is expected to use Pace boxes that will be smaller than the Humax device at a later date.

Alex Green, director TV, BT Retail, said: “This is a fantastic offer. Customers will now be able to enjoy BT’s super-fast fibre broadband with a YouView box and TV Essential pack all for £18 per month. With YouView from BT not only can customers experience a great new way to watch TV they will also be able to access a huge range of on-demand content from BT Vision. The launch of YouView from BT is another piece of exciting news about BT’s plans for TV.”