Foxtel to Binge on ‘seismic’ change

Foxtel’s new entertainment streaming service will launch in a week, a seismic shift in strategy for the pay-TV company.

Emilia Clarke in a scene from Game of Thrones

Foxtel’s new entertainment streaming service will launch in one week, in what is being billed as a seismic shift in strategy and content for the subscription television company.

The new streaming service, understood to be called Binge but yet to be confirmed by Foxtel, will launch next Monday, boasting “10,000 hours of the best local and international drama and movies”. Drawing on its renewed content deal with WarnerMedia, the service will show full seasons or “stacks” of television series rather than screen week-to-week episodes.

The launch of the streaming service by Foxtel (majority owned by News Corp, publisher of The Australian) is a big bet by the one-time pay-TV provider that has internally restructured and is now looking to rebrand itself as a streaming service in entertainment and sport. The streamer has been created by the same team that produced Kayo, and will also be headed by Kayo CEO Julian Ogrin.

Foxtel CEO Patrick Delany said he was “pleased to finally be ready for the big reveal to Australia next week” after months of speculation about the new service, codenamed Project Ares within News Corp.

“We have been beta-testing the service for a few weeks and we are sure Australians will love everything about it. It brings an exciting new brand to younger streaming audiences with a very different and compelling product experience, and a distinctly curated mix of the best drama and movies from the world’s best entertainment brands,” he said.

The launch is just weeks after Foxtel secured a new content deal with WarnerMedia that will give Foxtel and its products TV shows from Warner Bros, HBO, HBO Max and WarnerMedia networks for programs such as Game of Thrones, Succession, Big Little Lies and other comedy classics such as Friends and Big Bang Theory.

It also means Foxtel will maintain Australian rights to Warner Bros and HBO content, rather than HBO Max going it alone through the US network’s own streaming service, set to launch in the US in late May.

Despite the content deal the streaming service is still entering a competitive streaming environment in Australia and will enter at a price between $10 and $14 and offer discounted and free trials to Kayo subscribers.

As well as competing with Netflix and Stan, Disney + made a successful entry to Australia with two of the big techs introducing Amazon Plus and Apple + to the market. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an almost complete cancellation of sport around the world. In News Corp’s latest results the company wrote down the value of Foxtel by $US931m ($1.45bn).

It has been a challenging year for Foxtel as it transitions from pay TV to a streamer, making more than 100 staff redundant recently as it dealt with the total cancellations of sport.

But Foxtel has also seen dramatic increases in viewership during the crisis with-on demand viewing up 90 per cent.

Mr Delany said he was confident Foxtel can reposition around its streaming services, especially as sport resumes.

“Our growth is in streaming. It includes Kayo Sports, which has grown rapidly and is expected to resume subscriber growth when live sports restart later this month with COVID-19 restrictions easing.”

“At the same time, we are making progress in right-sizing and modernising our cost base.’’