Foxtel sale to DAZN will not immediately impact pricing and packages for subscribers

The sale of Foxtel to UK sports streaming giant DAZN will not have an immediate impact on pricing or the packages available for subscribers, company CEO Patrick Delany has confirmed.

Foxtel CEO Patrick Delany.

The sale of Foxtel to UK sports streaming giant DAZN will not have an immediate impact on pricing or the packages available for subscribers, company CEO Patrick Delany has confirmed.

“Anything to do with price will have nothing to do with the change of hands,” he said.

“It’s business as usual. The new owner has just said ‘We back your strategy, we think what you guys are doing is great’,” he said.

But in an increasingly competitive market, the acquisition by DAZN will turn Foxtel into a stronger company, Mr Delany said.

“To compete against the global giants like Netflix and Amazon, you need scale, and these guys are big – they’re in 200 countries with 300 million viewers.

“That means for our current subscribers and for Australians generally, we’re going to be making better products, and we’re going to be a stronger, locally managed and operated company, which I think is really important in the context of global scale.

“At the moment there is huge brand equity in the words Foxtel, Fox Sports and Kayo, and there’s no plan to change any of that. We have a new strong shareholder backing us and they’re saying ‘go for it’.”

Foxtel’s customer base has evolved quickly, just as the company has, Mr Delany said.

“There’s no one in the world that has gone from seven years ago, having a single product that was delivered by a satellite, to now having 75 per cent of all customers delivered through streaming,” he said.

Industry analysis suggests more Australians are signing up to more streaming services to ensure they catch those must-see TV shows and sporting events. A mid-year snapshot by industry analysis site Telsyte found growth in subscriber numbers in seven out of the top eight streaming services, with Foxtel’s Kayo Sports platform boosting viewers by 14 per cent.

Further growth is expected next year, although the Australian arrival of at least one new streaming service – HBO’s Max – should ensure competition for viewers remains fierce.

Originally published as Foxtel sale to DAZN will not immediately impact pricing and packages for subscribers