As if rolling out free Wi-Fi to its entire nationwide chain of coffee shops wasn’t enough, Starbucks will now offer free downloadable content if you connect to its network.
The coffee house giant has just inked a new deal with Yahoo and Apple, a deal that will actually be financially beneficial to all of those companies and the customer. Imagine that.
As part of the new deal, users who tap into the Starbucks network will now see a special Yahoo-powered landing page by default when they open their browser. This portal will offer users the latest news, as well as streaming video and music.
Additionally, Yahoo will give these customers, exclusively, free e-book downloads, which will change on a rotating basis.
As an extra bonus to people who are willing to pay $8 for a frappuccino, Apple will instantly offer people who sign into a Starbucks Wi-Fi network a free iTunes download for the Starbucks “song of the week.”
The weekly song promotion began years ago between Apple and Starbucks. Users have for a while been able to grab a special download card from Starbucks, giving them a code that could be redeemed for the song. The new deal makes that promotion even more seamless, offering the download directly to Starbucks-Wi-Fi-connected computers.
Of course, there is a catch. That Yahoo portal will also link users to areas where they can download premium content and also buy stuff online. This is where Starbucks gets the goods – any sales that go through this portal generate a cut for the coffee company. Yep, it sounds like a good business deal for sure.
