https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-06/foxtel-struggling-bef…
I thought this was an interesting point in the article:
In the next few weeks, the company will unveil a new, much cheaper offering, called Binge, to compete effectively with the new players stealing its turf.
I've never been hugely against Foxtel but can understand why some people don't see value in it, especially with their pricing and competition as it stands today.
What's everyone's thoughts?
Yeah I remember their big hook used to be no ads and no show interruptions. We only ever see it if we're staying in hotels and even then it's pretty crap.
a friend of mine years ago did a test. He timed the ad breaks in an episode of The Simpsons on free to air and then the same episode when it was on Foxtel. First, he noticed a bit of the Foxtel episode was cut, and then discovered there was more ad time on Foxtel than FTA.
Small sample size, shoddy testing, but seems to add up to what the user experience with Foxtel is.
So much this
Was reflecting on it the other day about how out of control it is now
Yes, we had Foxtel ($69/mth) until we moved house. Then I rang them to cancel and they wanted to know why.
I told them about the ridiculous number of ads (as bad as FTA).
They said "What can we do to keep you?". I said "try me". Long story short, we got to $32/mth for the same package, i still said "No, you've had your opportunity to fix it when I complained, so "we're leaving".
We'd never have another Murdoch 'service'.
Yes I detest the Murdoch Media's role on our society as well and won't support it.
Some absolute drone negged you, so I'm countering that with a +
@ThithLord: Thanks, Lord.
I hope you look down from above on the Murdoch loving cretin that requires Bolt and Sky after dark to think for them.
why dont they just put ads betwween shows only.good compromise
It's genuinely insane. My parents still have it, and whenever I'm over and flicking through the channels, I can't fathom how it's a paid service (and not a cheap one). They even have those lengthy daytime TV/mini infomercial style ads, and play the same ones over and over. It's unbearable.
I only notice the ads when i started using the app to watch live tv. I havent really watched much live tv on Foxtel for years as i just record everything and watch it afterwards from the IQ boxes. Only things i watch live are sports these days and news. I hate the ads and i cant believe they get away with that crap on such a expensive subscription format. I also hate how the higher package subscribers get nothing for free while the lower one always get freebies every few months.
I second that - Good Riddance.
Mxxdoch did a lot of harm to sport (soccer, cricket) by stopping the general populace, who couldn't afford his ridiculous charges, from watching a national pastime.
When many saw free sport as a right.
Then the 'thin edge of the wedge' began (promos of what's coming).
That was cultivated into commercial advertising (he hoped people wouldn't notice), and all of a sudden people were paying him to watch ads, that HE WAS BEING PAID FOR!!.
To wit I add "fxxx him!"
It's pretty clear they're moving towards a model that will allow them too participate in both ends of the market.
There are people out there who just want a streaming service, and won't pay for regular Foxtel. But equally there are plenty of people who are happy to pay a premium price for a more familiar/premium experience of the IQ box and for satellite delivery (there are plenty of places where streaming isn't realisatic).
there are plenty of people who are happy to pay a premium pric
No there isn't. That is the whole reason they are struggling.
They're struggling because of those who don't want to pay a premium, they are straight up losing to their competitors. They need an entry level streaming only product and to simplify down to satellite only delivery as they're doing. Whether that's enough to keep going who knows - but if anything, COVID will probably provide a correction in the domestic sports TV rights which exploded over the past 10 years or so.
but equally there are plenty of people who are happy to pay a premium price
They're struggling because of those who don't want to pay a premium
Ummm, which is it?
@MrBear: Both, as I said. There are lots of people in the market who want to pay a premium to have the Foxtel box - a look at subscriber numbers will tell you that. But how that is being eaten in to by ever smarter TVs etc is probably a whole discussion on its own.
Howveer, the number of people willing to pay the premium has definitely decreased and Foxtel have not been responsive to the market changes as they've happened, which is one of the reasons they are where they are. Anyone who doesn't want to pay for the premium experience has so far been completely lost to their streaming competitors (who coincidentally, by and large aren't making much if any profit, either).
Foxtel's agreement with Telstra's (& ultimately NBN) cable network expires in 2023, so Foxtel will only be available via internet or satellite within 3 years. There are pros and cons to satellite but many will look elsewhere for content.
Unless they re-up.
True, they could. But Foxtel have stated they won't, and since March this year they will not provision cable for any new sales or house moves.
But Foxtel have stated they won't
2 years is a long way off in business…
Foxtel wouldn't provision cable for my place March last year. Would only connect by satellite. Needsless to say I no longer have foxtel.
Foxtel wouldn't provision cable
Needsless to say I no longer have foxtel.
How did you have it if you couldn't get it?
No Sport and No beer make Homer something, something….
Go crazy
Don't mind if I do!
I believe that Foxtel's basic problem is how they bundle products together; if you wanted to watch the sport, you had to subscribe to their more-expansive offering (at the relevant cost).
The article states that Foxtel's customer base has not changed since they introduced Kayo. That may indicate that those customers who only wanted sports, just moved across to Kayo at a lower cost.
Netflix, Stan, and others, are not major competitors for the sum of Foxtel's offerings; just for those segments that align.
I actually like Kayo (except for the commentary), and if it continues to be available when sports eventually return, I'm ok to pay my monthly fee as I see that content as worth that cost.
If Foxtel were to break-down their offerings to key segments, at appropriate cost points, I might look at that, but the need to pay for a bundled offering is not for me.
Good I hope they die.
If they die, that's a good thing.
We need more businesses to go bust. That way we can re-introduce Risk back into Investments, so things do course-correction to a more natural state. Businesses need to understand to not peddle crap and expect success. Perhaps if we raise the standard, management across the board will improve, leading to more competition, more availability, better quality, lower prices, and happier people… ALL AT THE SAME TIME.
*by Business I mean Bad Business, ergo Foxtel which has been shoddy for many years
Foxtel will not be going anywhere.
It will probably trim a heap of jobs and run a much trimmed down biz model but they will survive and thrive (especially once sport returns)
as for Binge its been planned for over a year, they started work on it weeks after the success of KAYO
they are waiting on the decision from HBO who are negotiating with Foxtel, Stan and Others atm who ever gets the deal with get HBO and all Warner content
HBO could also choose to let the contracts lapse and simply launch HBO Max in Aus themselves.
Stan i do see having some issues long term if they do not get HBO as ViacomCBS wont be renewing Showtime etc contracts as they want to move that content onto Ten All Access
Just read they (Foxtel) got the HBO content
Oh thats good for them
Not so good for Nine Entertainment/Stan though
https://tvtonight.com.au/2020/05/foxtel-renews-deal-with-hbo…
agreement Content Highlights
HBO Max Originals will bring a collection of stories targeted at younger streaming audiences including the much-anticipated reboot of Gossip Girl, The Flight Attendant starring Kaley Cuoco and Ridley Scott’s upcoming sci-fi series Raised by Wolves.
As the Australian home of HBO the much anticipated Game of Thrones prequel along with returning seasons of Succession, Barry and Westworld along with every HBO drama series ever made, perfect for bingeing on demand, including Game of Thrones, Sopranos, Sex in the City, Insecure, The Wire and Veep.
Renewal of Warner Bros. scripted output and new scripted productions, made for US Network, cable and OTT platforms along with Warner Bros catalogue of TV series including PAYTV and SVOD rights for two of the world’s most popular comedies The Big Bang Theory and Friends for use across the Foxtel Group.
Extension of Foxtel’s Movies relationship with Warner Bros. including first-run feature films and its acclaimed library of classics.
New co-production agreement to create original content, Australian made and locally produced continuing Foxtel’s’ long-term commitment to the Australian production community.
they must have paid very premium price.
HBO is the only way they might survive. But it might backfire if they can't turn that into profit.
Without sport why would anyone pay for the crap they show? It is really there fault have a business model that is about 10 years out of date
Even most of the sport they do show is pretty B grade most of the AFL and NRL games are interstate matches or not high profile times ie Sat/Friday night
They over paid for AFL, NRL and Cricket
Personally id be happy for foxtel to die out but it would financial hurt the whole Australian sporting industry
You obviously have no idea, Foxtel show ALL AFL games, without ads siren to siren, the he only exception is the Grand Final. It might be the same for the NRL but I don't tune into that enough to know.
Maybe you are confused with Channel 7 who only get 3, sometimes 4 games per week.
Im sorry you are correct they do play every match and it is ad free but you missed the point most AFL fans un-subscribe soon at the season is over…. Foxtel are renegotiation the AFL and pulled the NRL deal off the table for a reason…
As for 3-4 games a year friday night, Thursday night, Saturday night and usually a Sunday are always on free to air (Victoria) basically the main games
Add into this the Anzac day match and a few other marquee fixtures…that is the majority of games not to mention if you are a Telstra customer you get access to the AFL app
*Or a boost mobile customer, you get free streaming.
But yeah couldn't agree more. Foxtel has been left behind by free to air and netflix for sometime now. Seven and Foxtel paid wayyyyyy too much for cricket to try and attract more people to their platforms. Yes the timing wasn't right but to fork out billions of dollars for a loss leader is senseless and i believe trying to buy your way out of irrelevance is just ridiculous.
@Neverpayretail: Sorry should've clarified, you get an afl pass membership as you're on the telstra network, theres a thread somewhere on here, just one of the many benefits. Also get unmetered apple music streaming
Foxtel sent me an offer for "free" sport for 6 months… when there was suddenly no sport. I kept the screenshot., went to accept but they refused to honour it and deny it was even an offer.. I suspect because talk had then just started about sport returning. One of the customer service staff I got a bit vocal with then must have got off the phone and thought F him, as he changed my package.
Foxtel, like Telstra, is for naive idiots.
So one should wonder how long you have had both based on your comments across this site
omg y'all got diji penalized :$
What's the difference? You're their all-time best subscriber!
Yeah? Well he had sex with your wife!
I make money back off my Telstra bill, so that's pretty worth for me
I've never been less than astonished when people tell me what they are paying for anything Telstra. How many suckers are there in Australia?
What's a decent alternative? I pay $60 a month for 60gb and need to be on the telstra network.
I'm on the same plan when I bought the iPhone from good guys, sold it for a tidy profit and my plan works out to be $31 a month for 60gb on telstra. Can't really beat that.
optus legacies
There's Boost mobile which uses the exact same network at a fraction of the cost. Ozbargain 101, i'm on 20gb/month for ~$20
Right, but it is a fraction of the data too.
Link pls
I'm on Telstra now after getting a ridiculous deal on a phone plan, and their coverage is so much better than any other service. But I agree, how many times have you heard of someone paying something stupid.
Unpopular opinion. I like my Foxtel service
You are in the minority these days. I'm over paying for a service that then serves me none stop adverts…
Same, mostly for the Sports, don't watch a heap of TV otherwise.
One thing I like about TV over say Netflix is that it runs on a schedule, so if you have an hour you can just find whatever is on, no decision necessary.
Netflix is on demand though, so you spend 20 minutes trying to decide what to watch.
Both products have their place in the market, but as far as sport goes Foxtel is just the best option, otherwise I probably wouldn't pay for it.
If your primary Foxtel viewing is sport, why wouldn't you save your money and go with their Kayo offering?
My dad agrees with you he's still happy to pay $100 a month even though theres no sport on at the moment.
Tell him to call up and threaten to cancel. His $100 will drop dramatically. It will be more exciting than the drama they play.
I enjoyed being told what I could watch to a degree (ie. only one show on per channel at a time vs the choice of all media contained on Netflix/Stan/Prime). It's like when I got a Nintendo DS and bought a RS card and loaded it up with 100 games - too much choice lessened my enjoyment.
Bring back the video store!
Foxtel cannot survive if they continue to be anti-consumer.
For example-
No Foxtel app for Apple TV
No simple way of only showing the channels you subscribe to on the box or app.
Being a massive shit to cancel.
Their competitors are all in on being ubiquitous and giving a great simple customer experience… I am already starting to find enough hours to consume the amount of crap being generated now, with Apple TV channels, Stan, Netflix, Amazon Prime, ABC Iview, SBS, plus the occasional stuff I rent from Google Play store (I am happily living a torrent free life now)- plus I only really had Foxtel for the 'soccer' but now get that free with Optus.
Foxtel GO App has never been available on a TV device , they want you to get the normal service and or beam from your phone which honestly is not hard and as such saves them development money developing for new devies.
I have an IQ4 and channels i am not subbed to do not show in my TV Guide and are auto skipped when i skip through the channels
They allow you to cancel online now, you can simply follow the steps and print out your labels for box return etc (if you want a save deal though, yes you need to call up)
I do agree completly with you about how much content you can get from their competitors saying that i ended up going back to Foxtel for the programming i can only get there and i am never willing to torrent as i have always believed if you like content you should pay for it.
Once Foxtel launches Binge i will most likely return the box and get that service. I want the drama and entertainment channels so having a Kayo like service for drama is worth it for me for sure
Didn't know about online cancelling, definitely takes away some of the pain of cancelling, although if I choose to call to cancel I shouldnt still be subjected to the Spanish inquisition as to why.
Don't accept the answer about beaming from phone vs a native app for streaming on tv. If all their competitors are doing it, including FTA players, then they are giving themselves a serious competitive disadvantage. I never use my Chromecast now I have Apple TV and Android TV.
As for Binge, lets wait and see… we have all lived through Foxtel Now, Foxtel Go, and shudder PRESTO. I have absolute confidence they can complete (profanity) this all up still.
Yeah i do not disagree with ANY of your statements to be honest.
Binge from what i have read has some potential, essentially all the entertainment and drama channels in one online package.
Without movies it may struggle though, i suspect their "movie store" will be added with no so convenient itunes /google play billing
Jimbob, not sure of your sources, but as a satelite subscriber, I use the Foxtel app on Android TV - it was rebranded ages ago and allows satelite subscribers to signin (who have multiroom). I don't 'cast' to the TV, I use the dedicated app they developed.
I am looking in the a Android TV store and I am only seeing an app for Foxtel’s online subscription product (not go which is used when you have a a box)
I see most people who have never used the service (especially on demand content on iQ3/4) are quick to shit all over Foxtel. Funny thing is, you can use it like an on demand service and not see any ads at all for a ton of shows and movies and as a bonus heaps of ad-free live sport (when life is normal obvs). Just shows how out of touch some people are with what they actually provide.
I actually prefer it over Netflix because beyond a couple of specific originals, I never watch anything but the previews when faced with their offering.
I was paying $72 per month for basic Foxtel with sport and HD. Quite why are customers expected to pay extra for HD is a mystery. It's not 2007 anymore.
I called Foxtel and negotiated down to $33.50 per month for the exact same product. The negotiation happened two months before COVID-19 blew up and stopped all live sport. The price is only good for 12 months before it rockets up again.
I plan on calling Foxtel every 12 months and requesting a disconnection unless they lower the price. The product is otherwise far too expensive for someone who just wants F1, A-League, and… that's pretty much it.
Wouldn't you be better, with those interests only, to have Kayo?
I tried Kayo but it wasn't completely reliable. The service glitched every now and then and wasn't as easy and reliable as the Foxtel satellite service which has never failed for me. $25 versus $33.50 is close enough to pay a little extra.
If you ring Foxtel and say you're canceling to move to Kayo listen carefully to the scripted answer: the Foxtel rep will rubbish Kayo and say how glitchy it is for him/her at home. Yeah, Kayo is owned by Foxtel.
Welcome to the club. I've been doing that for the past 6-7 years now.
can we do with any plan service any industry too
The different prices they charge and lack of offers is what gets the existing customers offside.
I just don't know how people have been able to justify the best part of $100 a month (or more) over the last however many years it's been.
The only time I even see it is when we're on holidays, and even then the only thing I find myself watching is Seinfeld or Judge Judy!
Foxtels strength was always been in Sports and Racing and this has NOT changed. This is where they make their money
Hence there is NO DEMISE in Foxtel
The are just adopting to the new delivery channels
No more Foxtel cable
Its either switch to or install Satellite or the Foxtel Now app.
The new Binge app wilolo just broaden their market
Too easy
Newscorp have been losing money for almost a decade and reported $1.4bn loss in 2018 i imagine this is going to be a hell of a lot worse in 2020
The fact is they over paid for sports esp AFL, NRL and Crickt.
Essentially ever dollar they put into these sports they are losing $3 i think that isnt a sustainable business model…
foxtel are like qantas, not liked by most due to the long term raping of average punters, would love to see them sink.
note they are not offering any discounts due to covid and the fact they have no live sports is a joke.
I see them a little like Blockbusters… their business model is being superseded and they need to change and adapt to survive. Blockbusters couldn't do it and so far I see little evidence of Foxtel being able a strong enough company to be prepared to potentially break one area of the business to save the overall company.
Its more likely they will die and I dont think anyone will shed a tear for them. Competition for streaming services is only going to get more and more fierce from what I can see.
Nah Foxtel aren't like Blockbusters, they are more like https://www.melbourneit.com.au/
A legacy subscription service, most of their customer base would be 55+ and continues to pay just because they don't know better.
In this day and age, it can't be hard to hire a few corporate strategists, or engage a consulting firm to help them pivot… but for 10+ years they haven't really innovated at all (save for Kayo).
Nothing could make me happier that seeing Foxtel go out of business.
Why people pay money to watch the huge amount of ads they play to only receive reruns of shows from 20years ago with only 'reality' new shows full of narcissistic fame chasers.
Not to mention the insane costs and old technology. Only a fool would buy Foxtel when there are vastly superior products out there which are much much cheaper.
Plus you end up ultimately giving money to Murdoch. That is actually my main reason for not getting Foxtel besides price, content and anti-competitive behaviour.
update, i rang foxtel and suggested i disconnect due to no sports and magically they have discount options, so you need to ask for a discount if you are a subscriber to this crappy service.
new update, these idiots that are employed by foxtel are useless and at best their english is crap.
the email they sent me confirmed not a discount as discussed but a price rise.
back on the phone to the idiots now.
cant wait until they sink.
Are these the same idiots that convinced you to stay on despite you wanting to cancel? LOL
Looking forward to further updates….
getting pop corn ready
I haven’t paid for sport for 2 years
On a related topic, I had a walk around the block earlier and noticed how many Foxtel satellites are on roofs, when I'm pretty sure most of my neighbours don't have Foxtel any more.
Is there a market for used dishes?
wok?
There shall be a new wok culture.
I tried to sell mine on gumtree for $20 and had no bites. I put on my nature strip with a 'FREE' sign, and it was gone in less than 5 mins. But YMMV
how many Foxtel satellites are on roofs, when I'm pretty sure most of my neighbours don't have Foxtel any more.
Its probably Wog-tel or Wok-tel
Is there a market for used dishes?
There was back when the "additional box" trick still worked. Foxtel unfortunately cracked down on that, so no longer any demand for them.
Didn't know Foxtel was still a thing. Why aren't they dead yet?!
We subscribed for 20 years, left six months ago. For me it was the adverts, there is just soooo many of them. I'm paying more for foxtel than every other streaming service combined & the was 5 mins of ads to 5 mins of content !
Good riddance. Having to pay for tv, then still get ads, is ridiculous.