2019 CEO Survey: Patrick Delany Foxtel

Foxtel CEO Patrick Delany. Picture: Britta Campion

Every year The Australian’s John Durie asks some of the biggest names in Australian business five key questions about what’s coming in the year ahead.

Here, in his own words, is what Foxtel CEO Patrick Delany sees ahead in 2020.

Read more from the 2019 CEO Survey.

How is your company affected by low-interest rates and what is needed to boost the economy?

While the economy is showing some positive signs, consumer confidence is actually moving in the opposite direction. What we are seeing is that record low-interest rates may actually be feeding the decline and along with high energy and petrol prices, it’s hitting discretionary spend hard. This is the canary in the coal mine and looking ahead to next year’s budget, the government will need to do more to kick start consumer demand.

What is the impact of government regulations on your company including those applying to the financial sector?

We are in a heavily regulated sector, but things are changing rapidly, and regulation isn’t keeping pace with the disruptive forces that are in play. Australian incumbents continue to face large regulatory costs and we simply don’t have a level playing field with the digital platforms and new global players. For example, the Government’s digital platforms response has to move faster and more decisively to stop the big tech platforms being used by people who are stealing movies, drama and sport.

What percentage of company revenues are spent on research and development and how is your company using technology to improve performance?

Television has always been about innovation but right now the pace of change is off the scale. To compete and to be relevant for our customers, we not only need to be better and different, we have to be special. Kayo, our new sport streaming service was a big investment for us and it’s paying off. Our iQ4 set-top box and the new user interface for Foxtel was also a big investment and we will need to keep our foot to the floor on innovation in 2020.

What are the three major policy issues facing the country and what should be done about them?

From where I sit now, you have to worry about the state of consumer confidence and where it’s taking the economy. So, I want to say it is all about the economy but clearly there are other big and related issues such the drought and how we give our farmers more support.

I’d simply encourage a greater sense of urgency around addressing these challenges.

What are the major impediments to long-term growth facing your company and what can or is being done about them?

We are in a golden age of television for consumers – there has never been more high-quality content available and there have never been more options to enjoy that content. So, the market is actually growing, the challenge for us is how rapidly we can change our business to succeed in an environment where technology and new global players are changing everything. We have done a lot this year but for incumbent businesses like Foxtel, we have to change the game if we are to continue to be successful – new services, new technologies, greater use of data and we have to become vastly more efficient.