In a major challenge to Foxtel and Telstra, Fetch TV is launching a new multi-million dollar advertising campaign to "come out of hiding" and promote itself directly to consumers.
Until now Fetch TV has relied on internet retail partners ike Optus, TPG, Dodo and iiNet to promote its device to consumers through bundled packages.
Chief executive Scott Lorson said the company has "lacked a consistent and coherent brand strategy" since launching five years ago because it had a slightly different name with each internet provider.
At the moment, Optus calls it "Yes TV by Fetch with Optus" and iiNet calls it "iiNet TV with Fetch". But from now Dodo, iPrimus and iiNet will simply call it Fetch.
"With product, content and distribution now in great shape, the time is right to come out of hiding and create a bold consumer brand to generate awareness and understanding of the Fetch service," Mr Lorson said.
Instead of being "Fetch TV" it will just be Fetch, and has a new tag line "We bring it" created by Jason Ross, formerly of CumminsRoss.
Fetch will spend $10 million over the next three months on radio, television, cinema and online advertising. Its internet partners will also make Fetch more prominent in their advertising, as TPG revealed at its half-year results last week.
Mr Lorson believes the roll out of the NBN provides a key opportunity for Fetch, which has been talked about as a threat to Foxtel for many years, but still only has about a fifth as many users.
The only major broadband that doesn't offer Fetch in bundles is Telstra which has about a 50 per cent market share of retail broadband services in Australia and is commercially aligned with Foxtel.
Foxtel is jointly owned by Telstra and News Corp while Fetch is now owned by Astro Overseas following a 2014 buyout. Astro is controlled by reclusive Malaysian billionaire Ananda Krishnan, who also owns a $4.4 billion stake in Astro Malaysia Holdings.
Foxtel's website says it has about 2.8 million subscribing homes. It is the only subscription service that offers high definition live broadcasting through cable and satellite connections, and also provides streaming on Foxtel Play.
Its equipment also works as a personal video recorder [PVR] and can be bundled with either Telstra or Foxtel internet, but Foxtel's equipment does not provide access to other subscription streaming services like Stan, Netflix and Amazon.
Fetch's Puck and Mighty devices are both a personal video recorder that records free-to-air television and a gateway to catch-up streaming and subscription video on demand services like Netflix and Stan. It also provides access to subscription channels like MTV, Disney and CNN, and one-off purchases of movies and series like Game of Thrones.
At the moment Fetch has about half a million users through its retail broadband partners and its device is sold in Harvey Norman and JB Hi-Fi.
But as the NBN ramps up this year it is creates more sales opportunities for Fetch. The day customers switch to NBN is a tightly contested marketing moment because they often change providers and sign up to new multi-year contracts.
Internet service providers include free entertainment packages, or access to subscription services, to lure and keep customers.
"Our partnership with Fetch is critical to the success of Optus' entertainment strategy," Optus' managing director of marketing and product, Ben White, said.
"Optus and Fetch have made huge strides in the past 12 months and will continue to innovate and disrupt the market. The new marketing campaign couldn't come at a better time."
In 2015-16 Fetch TV had total assets of $46 million and earned revenues of $120 million, up from $61 million the previous year, according to records filed with the corporate regulator.
It recorded a post-tax loss of $5.3 million, which was an improvement on the previous year's loss of $11.6 million. Fetch employs nearly 90 people in Australia and until now has spent about $5 million annually on advertising.
