Foxtel cuts ‘too expensive’ prices
September 4, 2014
By Colin Mann
Australian pay-TV service Foxtel is slashing the cost of a basic cable package to $25 and launching a new on-demand BoxSets channel for pay-TV and digital users. The move is seen a pre-emptive strike before the anticipated launch of Internet streaming service Netflix in the local market, as well as an attempt to attract new subscribers who have hitherto resisted pay-TV subscription on the grounds of cost.
“We recognise that many Australians feel that Foxtel is too expensive to fit comfortably into their budget,” Foxtel chief executive Richard Freudenstein told delegates at the ASTRA 2014 Conference. “They know that we offer fantastic content but they just don’t feel they can stretch their finances to afford it.”
The A$25 entry point entertainment pack includes 40 channels, such as MTV, National Geographic TCM and Universal. The BoxSets channel will be available for an additional A$10 on top of the newly announced A$25 entertainment pack.
“Bingeing on television is hugely popular and we know that this service will be a smash hit,” claimed Freudenstein. Subscribers will be able to view complete series of television shows on demand, including popular series Game of Thrones, The Newsroom, Entourage and The Sopranos.
The new pricing and content offerings will be launched November 3.
Foxtel’s move comes soon after it halved the cost of its SVoD service Presto from A$19.99 to A$9.99, just five months after its launch.
Freudenstein also revealed that Foxtel will begin the final trialling of its triple play offer in November, with a planned launch in the first quarter of 2015, rather than late 2014 as anticipated.