T-Mobile has a new digital video offering to try to entice customers away from one of its competitors. The mobile data carrier will provide Verizon customers with a free year of Hulu for switching to a T-Mobile data plan.
T-Mobile’s Hulu offer is a part of the data provider’s Un-carrier Unwrapped holiday campaign, which seeks to reward consumers who choose T-Mobile over other carriers. For each Verizon customer who chooses to switch over, the data carrier will provide a $100 gift certificate good for over one year’s worth of Hulu’s Limited Commercials plan. Additionally, T-Mobile will offer new customers from Verizon up to 50% off select mobile accessories, like headphones and speakers, to help them enjoy their Hulu experience even more.
The Hulu offer from T-Mobile also helps promote the carrier’s recently-introduced Binge On feature. That program provides T-Mobile customers with qualifying plans the ability to watch videos on services like Netflix, HBO Go, and Hulu without the data counting against their monthly allotment. T-Mobile points out how with Verizon, consumers who want to binge-watch a full season of Hulu’s The Mindy Project would have to pay Verizon up to $40 more dollars for the extra 2.6Gbs of data they would use while streaming the show.
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“Verizon customers put up with a lot of sneaky tricks from Big Red these days. Overpriced data, shocking overage penalties and no early upgrade option – just to name a few,” said John Legere, President and CEO of T-Mobile, in a release. “So while Verizon spends billions of dollars on TV ads screaming that ‘better matters,’ we are going to show their customers why the Un-carrier is better with a real gift, half-off the best accessories and a full year of Hulu that comes with unlimited LTE streaming with Binge On at T-Mobile! It’s a gift that will keep giving all year long!”
The decision to incorporate a streaming video offering is an interesting move on T-Mobile’s part. The mobile company is one of the only data providers lacking a consistent presence in the digital entertainment world. While T-Mobile sponsored YouTube’s Coachella live stream this summer, the data provider’s competitors have invested much more visible effort into digital video. AT&T, for example, is part owner of multi-channel network Fullscreen through its Otter Media venture alongside The Chernin Group. And Verizon just launched its mobile video service go90. T-Mobile’s Hulu bribe could be a part of the mobile company’s strategy to stay on top of online video trends and meet consumers’ digital consumption needs.
Interested Verizon customers can visit any T-Mobile store and switch over to get their free Hulu subscription before December 18, 2015.
