In a phone call to investors this morning, Robert Thomson, News Corp Australia CEO has all but confirmed that Foxtel will launch its own video streaming entertainment service. You might think that Foxtel has already dabbled in this area .. and it has. Aren’t Foxtel Now and Foxtel Go already basically the same thing?
During the call, Mr Thomson stated that Australians have proven that they are willing to pay for premium content, with Mr Thomson confirming that Foxtel currently has 3.144 Million subscribers already.
Fundamentally, what we are seeing is a real growth in the number of Australians prepared to pay for premium programming and there is little more premium than exclusive sports rights,
Subscribers for Kayo are currently sitting around 382,000, with 331,000 subscribers paying for the services, and Foxtel Now is currently sitting at 460,000 both paid and unpaid, though this is down from the 567,000 subscribers the service had, thanks in part to the end of the TV drama Game of Thrones ending.
The old story about Foxtel was that it had maxed out on subscribers that there were a strictly limited number of Australians prepared to pay for content and that we’d hit that limit. Frankly, that’s clearly not the case.
It has been widely expected that Foxtel would be launching a separate video streaming entertainment service now for a few months but it begs the question – what does this mean for Foxtel Now?
Given pricing for Foxtel Now starts at $25 per month for the basic package and all the way up to $104 once you add all the packages, any new streaming service would have to be as competitive as Netflix and Stan currently are. It’s hard to see how Foxtel could package up some of its content into a bundle like that – but anything is possible.
We will be keeping an eye out for any new information regarding the new Foxtel video streaming entertainment service as it comes to hand, but in the meantime, we want to ask you, would you consider paying for another video streaming service? Let us know in the comments below.
Foxtel should let people pick their own channels and not bundle them.
I subscribed to foxtel over 20 years ago to avoid the ads on free to air, now there are loads of them and no REAL reductions in subscription for the excessive ads. Also whilst I am not naive to foxtel making money but subscribers need to have THEIR CHOICE of packages not foxtels choice of packages? There are probably 50% of channels on offer I don’t watch or want but pay for? So going forward they’ll really have to offer something bloody good.
I subscribed to foxtel over 20 years ago to avoid the ads on free to air, now there are loads of them and no REAL reductions in subscription for the excessive ads. Also whildt I am not naive to foxtel making money but subscribers need to have THEIR CHOICE of packages not foxtels choice and their direction of packages? There are probably 50% of channels on offer I don’t watch or want but pay for? So going forward they’ll really have to offer something bloody good.
Foxtel where to slow to get into streaming what they need to do now is have streaming service around $15 month and the customer needs to be able pick what channels they want whether 15 20 channel I don’t know but I’m sure people with full package won’t change of cause a few will but on the whole I think you pick up a few million new subscribers. Their to worried about their bottom line this will be their down fall.
I would pay for this proposed new Foxtel Drama/Entertainment SVOD service if it is priced in a similar way to Kayo Sports currently is (A$25 or A$35 per month with no lock in contract on any combination of Smartphone, Tablet or PC with casting to TV or a big sized monitor an option). If they can do this so I can watch shows such as Chernobyl, Westworld and the upcoming Watchmen TV series plus WWE Live programs on Fox8 channel such as Raw and Smackdown…then I will DEFINITELY SIGN UP AND SUBSCRIBE !
Bring the premier league back
It’s has started it was on my package
I miss it
Me as a customer for well over 30 years unable to get a discount & mean a good discount.should be better to pay for the shows u want to watch not the other rubbish that comes with the package.Paying far to much.
You’ll get a stream straight from Rupert Murdoch’s empire.
For your money you’ll pay for a parade of far-right commentators late at night.
Don’t politicians get free Foxtel for their homes and offices already?
Foxtel can shove it up their @#$&. Strictly amatuer hour !
Oh, I am a customer by the way.
As far as companies go, Foxtel is a third rate deal in my book.
“The old story about Foxtel was that it had maxed out on subscribers that there were a strictly limited number of Australians prepared to pay for content and that we’d hit that limit. Frankly, that’s clearly not the case.”
I reckon it’s more that there’s a strictly limited number of Australians prepared to pay Rupert Murdoch for content, and that, not price or service type, will limit FoxTel’s customer numbers.