Telkom and DStv parent MultiChoice have reached an agreement in terms of which subscribers to the telecommunications operator’s Telkom Internet ISP will get a “free”, Internet-connected high-end Explora personal video recorder (PVR) decoder.

Under the promotion, which will run for six months from 23 November on an exclusive basis between the two parties, Telkom Internet broadband will be bundled with the new Internet-connected DStv Explora decoder, Telkom said. The deal is particularly noteworthy given that MultiChoice already owns an ISP business in MWeb.

Existing Telkom Internet customers who upgrade their ADSL to 10Mbit/s or faster will get a free Explora on a 24-month contract. New-to-franchise Telkom Internet customers will get a free Explora when buying 10Mbit/s or faster ADSL, also on a 24-month contract.

Telkom CEO Sipho Maseko told TechCentral on Monday morning that the idea is to seed the association of Telkom and content in the minds of consumers. “We will be doing that for a little while with MultiChoice, but it’s the first step in a wider strategic layout with regards to content going forward,” he said.

The news comes just days after MultiChoice announced that it was launching an Internet-enhanced version of its Catch Up service, a DStv Now application for smart devices, and “remote recording” functionality, allowing subscribers to go online to set recordings on their Explora PVRs remotely.

The pay-TV broadcaster also debuted the DStv WiFi connector, which connects to the Explora’s Ethernet port, and allows consumers to connect to their wireless home Internet router. It retails for R399. Consumers can also plug their Explora directly into Ethernet if they have a home network.

The new Catch Up service, called DStv Catch Up Plus, was launched at the weekend, allowing owners of the Explora PVR, when it’s connected to the Internet, to get an additional 300 titles of the latest series, movies and other content. Catch Up viewers already have access to 300 titles, delivered on a “push” basis over satellite to their PVRs.

Customers can choose up to 25 titles from the DStv Catch Up Plus library to download to their Explora, to watch when it suits them. Streaming is not yet available, although MultiChoice has promised “progressive downloads” in the first half of 2015. Titles will first be buffered sufficiently, based on the speed of a viewer’s Internet connection, to ensure smooth playback.

The 300 titles of Catch Up Plus will be doubled over the next few months, MultiChoice said last week.