Orange offers free films in Apple tie-up

Orange, the mobile phone operator which has offered deals on cinema tickets for the past eight years, has secured a partnership with Apple to offer customers the chance to rent movies online for free.

The network, now part of the Everything Everywhere group alongside T-Mobile, has launched Orange Film To Go with Apple's iTunes in a bid to attract more film-loving customers to its brand.

The deal will allow users to download one film a week at no cost, to watch on a PC, laptop or Apple device such as an iPhone or iPad. As with existing rentals over iTunes, it will be available for 30 days.

The phone group said the deal would complement its "hugely popular" Orange Wednesdays offer, where customers can receive two cinema tickets for the price of one each week.

Orange first offered that deal in 2003 but its links with the UK film industry go further back with its sponsorship of the Baftas from 1996 which carries on today.

For the first month Orange customers will be offered Mickey Rourke's The Wrestler, The Ghost, starring Ewan McGregor, and Che: Part One.

Andrew Pearcey, the head of sponsorship at Orange UK, said: "We're hoping to see a significant number of our customers taking up this offer."

This is the latest move by a mobile phone company to attract customers with entertainment deals. O2 has strongly targeted music lovers, offering priority booking on concerts and events. It also recently entered the deals market, to offer customers discounts using their mobile phones.