Foxtel - how atrocious has it become year after year?

[Pistol Night]

Foxtel can see the writing on the wall and know there times limited so don't give a **** really. Milk as much out of everyone before they fold.

 

[Kwality]

Foxtel can see the writing on the wall and know there times limited so don't give a fu** really. Milk as much out of everyone before they fold.

So who/what/when/where is going to 'pony up' the money that Foxtel does? Yeh, yeh, Amazon etc .... ....

 

[Pistol Night]

So who/what/when/where is going to 'pony up' the money that Foxtel does? Yeh, yeh, Amazon etc .... ....

No idea but Foxtel are taking the piss now

 

[Kwality]

No idea but Foxtel are taking the piss now

Got an example?

Start here:https://www.foxtel.com.au/about/media-centre/press-releases.html

 

[Pistol Night]

Got an example?

No. Ive got absolutely nothing to back this up at all apart from my excessive monthly bill and 8 cans under the belt. You weren't supposed to press me on the issue.

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

much more there.

I don’t care for it.

 

[Kram]

So who/what/when/where is going to 'pony up' the money that Foxtel does? Yeh, yeh, Amazon etc .... ....

It would kind of be funny to see Foxtel/Kayo fold and the celebrating to then only be taken over by someone that decided to charge more for the AFL and cricket

 

[Kwality]

It would kind of be funny to see Foxtel/Kayo fold and the celebrating to then only be taken over by someone that decided to charge more for the AFL and cricket

The money isnt there from FTA even with streaming, e.g the Olympics. The AFL & all clubs would take a $haircut & its the same story for the NRL.

 

[peternorth]

I like key moments in test match cricket on Kayo.

 

[HirdyLannister]

I agree with everything said about Foxtel it's gone down hill.

We share among afew houses though so I have premium Foxtel for $47. It's my only paid TV service, don't have Netflix or anything.

I still feel it's alright at that price.

 

[Hamingja]

It would kind of be funny to see Foxtel/Kayo fold and the celebrating to then only be taken over by someone that decided to charge more for the AFL and cricket

Or an American company buys the rights and then cuts back on the coverage and only shows selected games. I've been following Celtic in the SPL and sky sports or whoever have the rights over there only show the odd game because they'd prefer to cover the EPL. It's like being back in the 1990s with AFL coverage.

 

[Hamingja]

$25p/m for the footy and cricket is fine. Basically everything else has been stripped off it by the other services now. The only one that really irks me is the tennis grand slams.

 

[Fwoy]

Their IQ box shits over any other PVR on the market too.

Personally very happy with the Fetch Mighty

 

[1989]

they should, but what can’t you live without? You can get Kayo and Binge for $39 a month all in HD, and add Flash for all the news services for another $8. Can watch on multiple devices in multiple rooms at no extra cost.

I like this option. Completely new to watching TV via apps, etc. Flash doesn't seem to appear on my LG (2021) or Samsung (2015) smart TVs. Is there a way to watch Flash directly through these TVs?

 

[Kwality]

$25p/m for the footy and cricket is fine. Basically everything else has been stripped off it by the other services now. The only one that really irks me is the tennis grand slams.

Is that what you think its worth, because the AFL have been the beneficiaries of the expense that Foxtel is.
Dont like it, but thats where the bulk dollars come from.
All clubs benefit.
Pay less, clubs get less ...

 

[Fwoy]

I like this option. Completely new to watching TV via apps, etc. Flash doesn't seem to appear on my LG (2021) or Samsung (2015) smart TVs. Is there a way to watch Flash directly through these TVs?

don’t think so yet. It’s the newest app so slowly rolling out. I can access it on Apple TV4k, but I don’t actually use it.

 

[Gasometer]

$25p/m for the footy and cricket is fine. Basically everything else has been stripped off it by the other services now. The only one that really irks me is the tennis grand slams.

For country people it’s been a winner. A trip to the footy live is a $100 day out plus the inconvenient times games are placed

 

[Father Jack]

six months ago I had to threaten to quit in order to get a discount down to a reasonable price and they said to just call back and do it again when it expires. So I got a text today telling me my deal was almost up so i called back and they told me they couldn't do the same deal again so I told them to put me through to retention where they were able to put the same deal back on. So it looks like I'll have to threaten to disconnect every six months from here on in. I know I could get most if not all of it through the streaming services but I'm a bit old school and like having the box for FTA as well.

 

[Kwality]

six months ago I had to threaten to quit in order to get a discount down to a reasonable price and they said to just call back and do it again when it expires. So I got a text today telling me my deal was almost up so i called back and they told me they couldn't do the same deal again so I told them to put me through to retention where they were able to put the same deal back on. So it looks like I'll have to threaten to disconnect every six months from here on in. I know I could get most if not all of it through the streaming services but I'm a bit old school and like having the box for FTA as well.

So its not sport that keeps you ?

 

[Billy ray]

six months ago I had to threaten to quit in order to get a discount down to a reasonable price and they said to just call back and do it again when it expires. So I got a text today telling me my deal was almost up so i called back and they told me they couldn't do the same deal again so I told them to put me through to retention where they were able to put the same deal back on. So it looks like I'll have to threaten to disconnect every six months from here on in. I know I could get most if not all of it through the streaming services but I'm a bit old school and like having the box for FTA as well.

welcome to the six monthly dance club. never not had a discount applied once threatening to leave. and if ever they call my bluff, bye bye and getting kayo to keep the sport content

 

[Father Jack]

So its not sport that keeps you ?

Not just sport, at a pinch I could go Kayo but I'd rather just have it as normal TV

 

[Gasometer]

Good grief

 

[Kram]

The Foxtel IPO will be a test of subscription revenue​

The float of Foxtel Group on the ASX later this year will provide a test of market sentiment towards subscription revenue models.

Feb 4, 2022 – 6.28pm

The initial public offering of News Corp’s sport and entertainment company, Foxtel, looks to be on track, judging from the solid numbers published on Friday.
Neither News Corp chief executive Robert Thomson nor Foxtel CEO Patrick Delany mentioned the IPO, but a May launch is possible, depending on market volatility. It could be priced between $3 billion and $4 billion.
A poor set of Foxtel numbers on Friday could have put a wet blanket over the IPO’s prospects and left Telstra CEO Andy Penn continuing to hold a 35 per cent stake in an asset he does not really want on his books.
David Rowe
Delany managed to keep the IPO flame burning with solid growth in second-quarter subscriber numbers (up 126,000) for the Binge streaming service, higher revenue per user at Foxtel, and the lowest customer churn rate (13 per cent) since the first quarter of 2019.
Total subscribers in the Foxtel Group at the end of December, including people testing the service, were 4.1 million.

In line with seasonal trends, the Kayo sports streaming service saw subscriber numbers go backwards in the December quarter. But its prospects should improve with winter sports coming through between now and June 30.
Don’t be surprised if Kayo exercises its pricing power in the months ahead and pushes through an increase in monthly subscription costs. This would help compensate for the high costs of sports rights and leakage of Foxtel subscribers.

‘Sticky’ consumers​

Foxtel’s subscriber numbers require a certain level of granular interpretation because Telstra has been offering 12 months of Kayo at $5 a month, and three months free of Binge with its mobile and broadband subscriptions.
Investors tend to be attracted to subscription business models because consumers tend to be “sticky”. In other words, if you can grow subscribers, reduce churn and keep costs flat, the business can generate strong cash flows.
When asked about the Foxtel IPO, Delany said he has his head down running the business. But he then talked up a business that has gone through a major strategic revamp under his leadership.

“There’s a diversity of things that we do with the two streaming services and Foxtel,” he says.
“We now have three services that all have over a million subscribers and two have got real momentum and growth, and the other one now has real stability.
“In that regard, I think that’s why investors should like subscription models – their subscribers are sticky so long as the business is well run and there is a good technology stack.”

Streaming wildcards​

If News Corp proceeds with a Foxtel IPO later this year, the market will be focusing attention on the quality of Foxtel’s content deals, the outlook for sporting rights auctions and the emerging competition from direct-to-consumer streaming services.
Another wildcard is the widespread custom of people sharing their streaming service passwords. Delany says Foxtel’s research shows that the passwords are being shared within households.

A couple of questions that will hang over the Foxtel IPO prospectus are: What will Comcast do in the direct-to-consumer space? What will happen to the NBCUniversal/Peacock/Sky Studios content which is with Stan until August?
The other competitive dynamic revolves around the completion of the merger of WarnerMedia with Discovery, which includes HBO Max. If this results in another global direct-to-consumer streaming strategy, it could affect Foxtel.

Sports content​

A third uncertainty is what the Walt Disney company decides to do with the ESPN sport network in Australia. It may well be combined with the Disney+ service.
Delany says Foxtel has plenty of content partnerships, and he is particularly pleased with the sports content deals, including the AFL and cricket, which are in place for another three years.
However, in recent years Foxtel has lost the A-League, Australian Rugby, the Tri-Nations tournament and the tennis majors.

It is ironic that the subscription revenue model that saved legacy media companies such as News Corp, The New York Times and Nine Entertainment, which owns Stan (and this masthead), is proving such a challenge for media disruptors such as Netflix and Amazon.
Netflix, the video-streaming powerhouse headed by Reed Hastings, has slumped in value by 32 per cent this year because of a marked slowdown in its subscriber growth.
At one stage last year, the market believed Hastings had created a virtuous circle of strong subscription growth driven by the creation of a pipeline of edgy video content.

Subscription slowdown​

But despite planned content investment of $US18 billion ($25 billion) in 2022, the company issued a weak June-quarter subscriber growth of 2.5 million, down from 4 million in 2021.
Analysts subsequently downgraded their Netflix earnings forecasts and wound back bullish subscriber growth numbers. Instead of an expected 20 million to 25 million net additional subscribers a year, the expectations are now 10 million to 15 million.

Investors are now getting their minds around one of the more obvious consequences of the coronavirus pandemic – global demand for subscription services was pulled forward.
Now, as the COVID-19 pandemic morphs into being endemic, leading industry players are talking about consolidating recent growth, a euphemism for slowing or even negative subscription growth.

The wheat has been sorted from the chaff and consumers understand value and are willing to pay.
— Patrick Delany, Foxtel CEO

An industry insider says the streaming video market is moving from the “land grab” phase characterised by low pricing, to managing for profit margins, which means pushing through price increases.
It is a sure sign of market maturity that Netflix did a round of price increases in North America in January. The basic monthly plans went up 11 per cent to $US9.99, and the premium service rose 15 per cent to $US15.49.
Disney+ lifted its prices last year by 33 per cent; this came through just two years after the product was launched.

To understand the power of the subscription revenue model, you only need to look at what the launch of Disney+ did to Walt Disney Co. It added $US50 billion to its market capitalisation with three months.
Also, it shifted the focus of the market from the company’s theme parks and other assets to subscriber growth. However, there is concern that much of Disney’s growth in 2021 came from cut-price subscribers in India, which have suppressed average revenue per user.

Two boxes need to be ticked​

Successful subscription models need to tick two boxes: own the content, and have the scale to generate the cash flow to fund the creation of the content.
The New York Times is a prime example of a company that was suffering because of declining advertising revenue and then turned around its fortunes through subscriptions.
At December last year, it had 7.6 million paid subscribers with about 8.79 million subscriptions across its print and digital products. It recorded a net increase of 375,000 subscriptions in the December quarter, compared with the end of the third quarter of 2021, and a net increase of 1.27 million subscriptions compared with the end of the fourth quarter of 2020.

The New York Times said its latest audience research “suggests there are now at least 135 million adults worldwide who are paying or willing to pay for one or more subscriptions to English-language news, sports coverage, puzzles, recipes, or expert shopping advice.
Delany says the subscription model is evolving and will include a combination of subscriptions and advertising. But the profound change from 20 years ago is the willingness to pay for content.

​

Netflix dominates Australia’s streaming wars​

“I think we’ve gone from an era entering digital where everyone wanted everything for free, and now the wheat has been sorted from the chaff and consumers understand value and are willing to pay,” he says.
“Gee, we never had that at Foxtel 20 years ago. It was very much a free market. And now people are willing to pay for content and are willing to put a value on good content. That’s why a subscription model is so solid.”
As far as the Foxtel IPO goes, the Netflix revaluation shows that investors will not apply earnings multiples based on endless growth. Perversely, a company with boring but predictable growth could do well.

The Foxtel IPO will be a test of subscription revenue

 

[windyhill]

Fox Docos has been a good addition.

 

[Kwality]

The Foxtel IPO will be a test of subscription revenue

How close is the above speculation to business reality?

NoCookies | The Australian

www.theaustralian.com.au

'Foxtel chief executive Patrick Delany has cited the growth and loyalty of its subscriber base, as well as healthy and diverse revenue streams, as the key markers of the company’s turnaround amid continuing speculation of an initial public offering before the end of the financial year.

Asked about the ongoing speculation about a public float, Mr Delany said the stability of the company was “very encouraging for all investors”.

“I don’t think much has changed in terms of speculation, but what has changed is that we’re delivering very stable results, which we said we would,” he said.

“Whether the owners (News Corp, publisher of The Australian, has a 65 per cent stake in Foxtel, with the remaining 35 per cent owned by Telstra) decide to offer part of it to the public, or whether we’re talking to debt markets about refinancing, or frankly, our own shareholders, we are building stable value.

“I would like to see our debt levels lower but with our cash flow we could easily pay back debt.'