TSUTAYA.com and NTT East Partnership

2013.04.16 Press Releases
TSUTAYA.com Co., Ltd. / Nippon Telegraph and Telephone East Corporation

- "TSUTAYA Stick" will be offered to FLET'S Hikari users, turning their home TV into a smart TV -

TSUTAYA.com Co., Ltd. (Head office: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Kazuo Nakanishi; hereinafter "TSUTAYA.com") and Nippon Telegraph and Telephone East Corporation (Head office: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Masayuki Yamamura; hereinafter "NTT East") have agreed to a mutual cooperation and partnership with the aim of expanding the use of the "TSUTAYA Stick"*2, a smart TV device that can be used with the video streaming service "TSUTAYA TV"*1, and NTT East's "FLET'S Hikari" service.  

1. Background to the partnership
In recent years, there has been a growing demand for services that allow users to easily rent and watch their favorite content online, with the number of members of TSUTAYA DISCAS*3, an online home delivery rental service provided by TSUTAYA.com, approaching approximately 1.4 million. However, in order to popularize smart TV services that deliver content via communication, there have been challenges to making them easy to use from the perspective of user convenience, such as building an internet connection environment for the TV, the complexity of device setup, low operability, and the fact that payment methods are limited to credit cards depending on the service.

Given this background, we have decided to combine the "TSUTAYA Stick," which allows users to easily watch "TSUTAYA TV" from TSUTAYA.com on their home televisions, with the "FLET'S Hikari" and Wi-Fi environment support and lump-sum billing services provided by NTT East. This will resolve the various issues that prevent users from adopting smart TV services, such as internet connection environment, device setup, operability, and payment methods, and will also help expand the use of "TSUTAYA TV" and "FLET'S Hikari" to even more customers by approaching the customer bases of both companies.

*1 A VOD (Video-on-Demand) and EST (Electronic Sell-Through) service that delivers HD-quality video content.
*2 A stick-type STB that connects to a TV's HDMI port to access the VOD service "TSUTAYA TV." For details, see [Appendix 1] and [Appendix 2].
*3 A rental service that allows users to create a rental viewing list on their PC or smartphone, and then receive DVDs from the top of the list, delivered to their home in order of availability. Users can then return the DVDs by mail after viewing.

2. Overview of this initiative
(1) Main Roles
■ TSUTAYA.com
①Providing HD quality video content
We will offer "TSUTAYA TV," which has HD video content including new Hollywood releases.
② Set sale of "Flets Hikari" and "TSUTAYA Stick"
We will be selling a set of "Flets Hikari" and "TSUTAYA Stick" to TSUTAYA TV members.
■　NTT East Japan
① Provision of FLET'S Hikari lines
We provide stable, broadband optical fiber lines, which are necessary for watching HD quality TV via the Internet.
②Sales of "TSUTAYA Stick"
"TSUTAYA Stick" will be sold to new applicants for FLET'S Hikari and those who are already using FLET'S Hikari.
③Setting support
Starting May 1, the support service*4 provided by NTT East will cover Wi-Fi settings for the TSUTAYA Stick and smartphone remote control settings, which are required to use TSUTAYA TV.
④ "TSUTAYA TV" usage fee will be billed together with FLET'S Hikari usage fee
With the "FLET'S lump-sum payment service"*5, it will be possible to pay the "TSUTAYA TV" usage fee together with the FLET'S Hikari usage fee in one lump sum.

*4 The "Setup Service" is a service that sets up FLET'S Hikari at the same time as the installation work is carried out, and the "On-site Support Service" is a service that visits FLET'S Hikari users to set up their services. As of March 27th, the "Remote Support Service," which is a setup support service that includes telephone explanations, has been implemented.
*5 A service that bills FLET'S Hikari users for fees incurred when using paid services by adding the fees to NTT East's bill and handles the work related to fee collection on behalf of the service provider.

(2) Campaign
■Campaign for new FLET'S Hikari subscribers
Those who sign up for FLET'S Hikari for the first time through TSUTAYA.com will receive a "TSUTAYA Stick" and 10,000 yen worth of "TSUTAYA TV viewing points." Those who request one will also receive a gift certificate for a Wi-Fi environment and the cost of setting up the "TSUTAYA Stick."
Reception channel: TSUTAYA TV campaign site
Applicable period: Wednesday, April 17th to Friday, May 31st

■ "TSUTAYA Stick Experience" campaign for existing FLET'S Hikari users
We will be giving away "TSUTAYA Sticks" to 1,000 FLET'S Hikari Members Club members through a lottery. Additionally, the winner will receive 2,000 yen worth of "TSUTAYA TV" viewing points*6.
Reception channel: FLET'S Hikari Members Club site
Application period: Wednesday, April 17th to Friday, May 17th at 1:00 PM
Winners will be notified around Friday, May 24th (prize shipping is scheduled for early June)

*6 Winners will be asked to fill out a separate survey (scheduled to be multiple times) regarding their viewing of the video.

3. Contact details for applications regarding this matter　
■ TSUTAYA TV *Scheduled to be released on Wednesday, April 17th at 9:00 AM

■　NTT East Japan　
・"TSUTAYA Stick Experience" campaign *Scheduled to be released at 9:00 AM on Wednesday, April 17th

・"TSUTAYA Stick Sales"
116 Call Center Phone number: 0120-116-116

[Attachment 1] Overview of "TSUTAYA Stick"
[Attachment 2] "TSUTAYA Stick" specifications
[Attachment 3] Campaign for new FLET'S Hikari applicants

Materials related to this matter

TSUTAYA.com and NTT East Partnership

Inquiries regarding this matter
TSUTAYA.com Co., Ltd. Public Relations Officer: Tada
TEL: 03-6800-4491

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone East Corporation Public Relations Office Press Officer
TEL: 03-5359-3711