National Geographic world-first app launches, exclusive to Optus
Optus customers no longer just have the soccer to watch -- the telco has snagged an exclusive deal to launch National Geographic's new multimedia app.
- Webby Award Winner (Best Video Host, 2021), Webby Nominee (Podcasts, 2021), Gold Telly (Documentary Series, 2021), Silver Telly (Video Writing, 2021), W3 Award (Best Host, 2020), Australian IT Journalism Awards (Best Journalist, Best News Journalist 2017)
The National Geographic app.
Science fans rejoice! National Geographic is launching its first ever multimedia app, and Australia is getting first dibs. The only catch? It's coming exclusive to Optus post-paid customers.
The app is a first for NatGeo, and combines the content it's become famous for across both print and digital. Inside are long-form docos and shortform videos, like you'd find on the National Geographic Channel, photography (NatGeo's Instagram account is the most-followed non-celebrity account in the world, FYI) and the good old-fashioned magazine (dating back to 2009, with a cameo from the original 1888 issue).
The brand has had magazine apps and a kids app before, but it's the first time all this content has come together in one app, and it's free and unmetered for Optus.
Optus has been pushing hard in the content space for the past three years, setting up unmetered streaming deals with the likes of Netflix and notably snatching the English Premier League rights from Foxtel last year. With Telstra resolutely holding the mantle of biggest Australian telco, and plenty of cheap providers racing to the bottom on price, Optus wants to win over (and retain) more customers.
And while the EPL has its fans, the jocks have had their time -- now it's time for the nerds to get their turn.
That said, the latest move into exclusive content is not just about appealing to NatGeo lovers and science buffs. Optus CEO Allen Lew says the app has content for "every single Australian."
That includes:
- Nearly 5,000 long and short form videos, including over 1,500 TV show episodes
- Two live TV channels: National Geographic and Nat Geo Wild
- Over 28,000 photos and galleries
- National Geographic magazine editions from January 2009, plus the 1888 full first edition
- Online articles from January 2014
- National Geographic's Instagram feed
- Plus "exclusive video content only available to Optus customers"
The app is available on iOS and Android, and free to download from the App Store and Google Play. But you'll need to be a new or existing Optus My Plan Plus or My Plan Flex customer with a AU$40 or higher per month plan to activate the app (via a verification code sent to your mobile). From there, all data is unmetered.