By Paul Hayes

SYDNEY, NSW: LG Electronics today entered the IPTV market with the announcement that its latest range of flatscreen TVs will offer access to BigPond Movies.

In partnership with Tesltra, LG’s 2010 range of more than 20 flatscreen TVs comes equipped with embedded access to BigPond Movies, as well as a range of other content directly through the company’s Netcast technology.

The BigPond Movies feature will allow viewers to access a library of movies and TV series directly to the web enabled TV.

Movies will be charged on a rent to view basis and may be played anytime within seven days and then after the first screening as many times as a customer desires within either a 24- or 48-hour viewing window.

“This is just the first step in bringing video to households over the internet directly to TVs. No subscription, no PC required,” said William Cho, managing director, LG Electronics Australia.

“We look forward to expanding our relationship in the coming months to make the most of BigPond TV’s emerging business through innovative LG devices.”

The company said the BigPond service on its TVs will evolve to provide a range of IP delivered video services including linear channels and video on demand across a range of genres.

BigPond content will be available for all users with a broadband connection, with existing BigPond customers able to gain unmetered access to content with Netcast.

LG’s new partnership with BigPond Movies comes after Sony Australia announced a similar IPTV alliance with Yahoo7 when it launched its 2010 range of Bravia televisions in February this year.

LG is yet to schedule a launch of its 2010 TV range, with Samsung and Panasonic set to unveil their latest collections, including 3D TVs, on 12 April and 20 April 2010, respectively.