Foxtel has unveiled its latest streaming device, the Foxtel iQ5, which the company has stated will provide customers with an experience that will offer best in world-class entertainment, all in one place, streamed live and on demand.
The new iQ5 streaming box features a simple plug and play set-up, so no more need to wait for a technician to come out and try to connect to the HFC network in your area or installing a satellite dish.
Foxtel has also announced another new feature coming soon includes ‘because you watched’ recommendations, which is sort of what you find currently with Chromecast with Google TV and services like Netflix.
The new iQ5 streaming box comes with a new new ultra-fast chip designed
for streaming 4K Ultra High Definition to the big screen.
Furthermore, the iQ5 comes with more streaming apps and services like Vevo, the biggest music video streaming service alongside Netflix with other apps like ABC iView and SBS On Demand coming later this month. Foxtel has also announced that Amazon Prime Video will be launching later this year to iQ3, iQ4 and now iQ5.
Patrick Delany, Foxtel Group CEO, has stated at the launch of the iQ5 streaming box that:
The launch of the Foxtel iQ5 is another major step in our evolution as Australia’s most dynamic streaming company. The iQ5 is another proof point for Foxtel as the all-in-one place heart of the contemporary Australian home. The iQ5 not only makes it easier for our existing 1.7 million customers to enjoy the best Foxtel has to offer, this streaming iQ opens up Foxtel’s premium experience to another group of Australians who could not access cable or didn’t want satellite.
This latest innovation requires no install, so subscribers can simply plug in and start streaming the best Australian and international sport, acclaimed dramas, blockbuster movies along with our selection of 100 live channels. This is the ultimate streaming machine with even more of the best streaming apps with Vevo and the recently announced Amazon Prime Video, to become available on iQ3, iQ4 and iQ5 set top boxes in the coming months. They join the existing suite of apps available on Foxtel including Netflix, YouTube, YouTube Kids, ABC iView and SBS OnDemand.
We believe the future of the premium Foxtel brand and the iQ5 together with a wider set of integrated apps confirms our strategy for Foxtel to be the Australian aggregator of the world’s best streaming content.
The advent of the current global pandemic has been a bonus for Foxtel, with people staying at home during the current lockdowns in Sydney and Melbourne needing to escape and navigate these lockdowns at home. Before the pandemic, Foxtel had experienced a bit of a decline in the face of increased competition from streaming providers, putting the service’s future in a bit of doubt.
With the iQ5, though, it’s possible Foxtel might have something to claw back some of those figures – an all-in-one place to access streaming content and Foxtel exclusives may prove lucrative.
The Foxtel iQ5 will be available for select subscribers from early September, with wider rollouts available later this year.
