STREAMING VIDEO – AUSTRALIA

Optus eyes more European football

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 24-Feb-20

Optus has ramped up its soccer coverage since gaining the local broadcasting rights to the English Premier League in 2015. The telco also has the rights to the FIFA World Cup and the UEFA Champions League, amongst others, and its Optus Sport streaming service now boasts some 825,000 active subscribers. Optus is also believed to be looking at gaining the rights to Germany’s Bundesliga, Spain’s La Liga and Italy’s Serie A; beIN Sports Australia’s existing rights deals are set to end in the next year or so.

CORPORATES
SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, OPTUS SPORT, ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE, FEDERATION INTERNATIONALE DE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION, BEIN SPORTS AUSTRALIA

Optus in rugby maul as it chases new subscribers

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 24 : 14-Feb-20

Tender documents for Rugby Australia’s new five-year broadcasting rights deal will be sent to prospective bidders within days. Optus CEO Allen Lew says the telco would be interested in buying the rights, which would boost the offering of its sports streaming service. Optus Sports boasts some 825,000 active subscribers, making it the nation’s largest sports-focused streaming service. Foxtel has been Rugby Australia’s broadcast partner for 25 years, and some media reports have suggested that it will not seek to renew the rights.

CORPORATES
SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, OPTUS SPORTS, RUGBY AUSTRALIA, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

Foxtel reshuffles senior executive team as it resets its operating model

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: Online : 13-Feb-20

Foxtel has promoted Les Wigan to the role of executive director of operations and technology, with responsibility for technology platforms, services and operations across the pay-TV group’s operations. Wigan is currently chief operating officer at Foxtel’s Kayo Sports streaming service. Meanwhile, Foxtel’s director of customer service Lesley Portwain will take on the newly-created role of chief customer service officer. The management reshuffle was prompted by the resignation of chief operations officer Euan Smith.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, KAYO SPORTS

Kayo streaming service kicks off deal for Telstra customers

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Original article by David Swan
The Australian – Page: 24 : 12-Feb-20

Telstra has secured an exclusive deal to provide its customers with discounted access to Foxtel’s Kayo Sports streaming service. New and returning Kayo subscribers who are Telstra customers will be eligible to receive a monthly discount of $10 on its basic and premium packages for 12 months. Kayo boasted 350,000 subscribers at the end of December. Telstra is the minority shareholder in Foxtel, which is controlled by News Corp.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, KAYO SPORTS, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Streaming services deliver surge in internet data downloads

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 22-Jan-20

Data from the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission shows that internet users’ data downloads increased by 47 per cent in 2018-19. The ACCC has indicated that growing use of subscription video-on-demand services was a major contributor to the sharp increase in data usage. The ACCC also notes that 88 per cent of the data downloaded during the financial year was via fixed broadband services, while the proportion of broadband plans with unlimited data has risen from six per cent in 2014-15 to 57 per cent.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, KAYO SPORTS, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, OPTUS SPORT

Foxtel leads ad streaming wars

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich, Zoe Samios
The Australian – Page: 25 : 9-Dec-19

Foxtel CEO Patrick Delany says streaming and data are a focus for the pay-TV group, noting that it has invested a lot of money on data in the last year. About 53 per cent of Foxtel customers with an IQ4 set-top box used video-on-demand in October, compared with 45 per cent in July. Meanwhile, the launch of Kayo Sports has attracted new advertisers to Foxtel, which has also introduced a new six-second advertising format.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, KAYO SPORTS, FOXTEL MEDIA, FOXTEL NOW, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, OOH!MEDIA LIMITED – ASX OML

Stan signs content from Disney’s Fox and ABC

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 29-Nov-19

Subscription video-on-demand provider Stan has secured a new content deal with Walt Disney Company. The deal includes TV programs that were produced by Disney-owned ABC Networks and 21st Century Fox. However, content from the Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars franchises will still be exclusively available via the rival Disney+ service at present.

CORPORATES
STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, WALT DISNEY COMPANY, AMERICAN BROADCASTING COMPANY, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, DISNEY+, HULU LLC, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC

Foxtel fortified by $1.6bn debt deal

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Original article by Leo Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 24 : 25-Nov-19

Pay-TV group Foxtel has completed a deal to refinance some $US1.1bn ($1.6bn) worth of debt. It is said to include a $US900m debt facility with a syndicate of commercial banks. The deal comes as Foxtel seeks to increase its presence in the subscription video-on-demand market with the launch of a drama-focused streaming service in 2020. It will complement Kayo Sports, which now boasts some 443,000 subscribers and recently won the SportsPro OTT Award for the best user experience.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, KAYO SPORTS, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, HANA FINANCIAL GROUP INCORPORATED, DISNEY+, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, AMAZON PRIME VIDEO

Disney explores local tie-ups

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 18-Nov-19

Walt Disney Company’s Australian MD Kylie Watson-Wheeler has downplayed suggestions that the global media company may seek an alliance with a local telco to offer free subscriptions to the new Disney+ streaming video service. She says Disney has had talks with telcos, but stresses that the Disney+ launch is the top priority at present. Industry sources have suggested that an alliance a telco is unlikely to occur for several months after the local launch of Disney+ on 19 November.

CORPORATES
WALT DISNEY COMPANY, DISNEY+, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INCORPORATED, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, HULU LLC, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM

Foxtel, NBCU close to TV, streaming deal

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 28-Oct-19

Foxtel is believed to be aiming to launch its new drama and entertainment streaming video service in March or April 2020. Foxtel is said to be close to finalising a new content agreement with US media giant NBCUniversal for both its broadcast and streaming video-on-demand services, after recently striking a new content deal with the BBC. The new subscription video-on-demand service will target consumers who want access to Foxtel content but do not want a pay-TV subscription.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, NBC UNIVERSAL INCORPORATED, BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION, KAYO SPORTS, FETCHTV PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, APPLE INCORPORATED, WALT DISNEY COMPANY, AMAZON PRIME VIDEO