So a FTA antenna as well as a satellite dish would be required for a number of cable subs. That’s a fair bit of work for each household. Satellite delivery of FTA is starting to look like a feasible option, at least for the 3 major metro markets. I doubt the networks would be happy to lose those viewers. They’re holding on to their current SD satellite channels and they only really benefit basic and first gen iQ satellite subs which are reducing in numbers as upgrades to iQ3 progress.
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God help us 
Well that’s certainly a bold move.
They’re certainly going to lose customers with the change over. People will need to take time off to let the technicians in, and some people certainly won’t bother with that and just shut off the service. And people may not want an satellite dish on the roof either. Some places even have covenants preventing installation of visible aerials or dishes.
People will also have a lot of stuff recorded on their boxes that they haven’t watched yet are also going to be screwed.
And the loss of free to air channels without an antenna outside Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
What incentive has FOXTEL received to even think of attempting this?
FOXTEL’s weak as piss VOD and IP offerings certainly don’t come close to providing a real substitute.
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does this mean where going to see the FTA networks forced to put there other affiliate channels on to foxtel satellite??
NBNCo with the scissors making a snip-snip motion after Foxtel’s transmissions disrupted their HFC rollout due to dodgy/substandard filtering?
I’ve read in places that Foxtel’s cable subscribers make up somewhere between 250,000 and 700,000 customers (with 2.8 million total cable+satellite).
They really have no choice but to do this, because NBNCo can just cut their access to the cable as soon as they want to. Fortunately the NBN rollout will probably take place over an extremely prolonged period of time meaning that it’ll be easy to transition the customers who can transition
I think Foxtel must have some sort of Foxtel IQ project in development which uses the internet to stream and record live TV. I think they’d have to set up some sort of cloud-based thing where recordings are stored in the cloud, due to the variability of internet connections across the country (even with NBN).
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they don’t have 7flix either which we’ve complained about, often.
This. And IIRC Foxtel (Murdoch) opposed FTTP?
He sure did, because he thought fibre was necessary for the likes of Netflix to really take off. It’s not. Entry level FTTN speed tiers can handle these streaming services quite well, even in 4K.
They probably have something in the pipeline based on Sky’s IPTV-focused hardware. But I’m not sure how cloud recording solves the issue of flaky internet connections when you need the net to access the cloud. Recording locally would solve that.
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Welcome to Foxtel Satellite. Around 2 million satellite subs have had to deal with these hurdles for decades.
With a flaky connection you wouldn’t be guaranteed the recording of the show if the live stream was interrupted, and a connection speed that isn’t constant would mean that recordings would be of low quality. Only a cloud solution would allow the show to be recorded and then buffered locally on the box as it is played (or downloaded to the box for later playback).
I’m one of them. It does the job, although the rain fade is annoying.
I didn’t mean to say satellite is terrible, just that there’s a lot of obstacles where customers may just can’t be bothered and drop FOXTEL altogether.
I thought NBNco were contractually obligated to let FOXTEL have access to the network? I’m sure NBNco would love to turf FOXTEL, as their frequencies are the best, that’s why I’m wondering what sweeteners NBNco or the government (which ultimately means us lowly taxpayers) have given FOXTEL to abandon cable.
I agree that it’s a better solution in the long run as nothing will ever be missed. If the internet connection starts slowing down half way through watching a cloud recording then the sub could just pause and allow it to buffer. Alternatively If they’re recording locally then they’ve lost parts of their show for good.
I remember Optus trying this years ago with their initial Yes TV service. They got in trouble because they were cloud recording FTA from one state for all subscribers nationwide. But it could work for the pay channels which are the same nationally.
But in this day and age, everything is on demand. Waiting for a show to start at 6pm on a linear service to record it then watch later has always been a stepping stone to an on demand future where you just watch everything whenever you want. Foxtel would be far better off building capacity to literally have their entire library on demand rather than implementing a cloud recording service, in my opinion anyway.
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I still like to have times where there’s a schedule of what to watch. Often, I have no idea what I want to watch and will only find something by channel surfing. That’s also how new shows can be discovered. I know a lot of people can do the same with Netflix and the like but it’s also quite overwhelming having so much choice when you don’t know what you actually feel like watching.
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I agree. I’m not saying on demand should replace linear TV. I’m saying it should replace the act of waiting for something to air to record it.
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A look at Foxtel’s Platinum package from 2006:
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So - many - channels - gone !
This was Foxtel in its prime - not much left of it these days.
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For The People, the new show from the creator of Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal, will premiere on the Universal channel on May 3rd.
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Foxtel brings Australians unlimited streaming and entertainment
New unlimited broadband and entertainment plans offer super reliable, super-fast streaming for video hungry Australians
Foxtel today announced that it was going all-in on unlimited data broadband plans for all new customers. The move is designed to simplify Foxtel’s broadband offering by removing the guesswork common to broadband plans, while placing increased emphasis on an entertainment-based plan designed for streaming.
Existing Foxtel TV customers looking to add broadband can subscribe to an unlimited Foxtel Broadband plan for an extra $75^ per month on a 24 month contract, in addition to their Foxtel TV subscription, or for an extra $65` per month when added to a Foxtel Platinum HD subscription with no lock in contract.
In addition, new Foxtel Broadband customers on the nbnTM will benefit from Foxtel’s Plus speed (nbn 50) included with all unlimited plans; with typical busy period speeds of 42.4Mbps1 - that’s five times the speed of the average Australian ADSL connection2 and three times the speed of the Basic nbnTM service3.
Foxtel Broadband is purpose built for entertainment and is designed to stream the best in sport, movies and TV, featuring every live game of the NRL, AFL, WAFL, F1, V8s, A-League, Super Rugby and more along with premium local and international programming, including Westworld, Fear the Walking Dead, The Americans, Gifted, Barry and upcoming Foxtel originals, like Picnic at Hanging Rock and Wentworth, streamed live or on demand.
Foxtel Broadband Unlimited bundles feature:
• Reliable service – Foxtel Broadband bundles are available on ADSL or on the nbnTM, with Plus speed (nbn 50) included1 on all new nbnTM unlimited broadband plans;
• Optimised modem for video streaming - The Foxtel WiFi modem delivers improved WiFi speeds and great in-home coverage enabling easy HD video streaming to multiple devices and comes free on a 24-month contract or for existing Platinum HD customers on the unlimited broadband plan;
• YouTube HD verified4 (as at March 1 2018) quality video streaming for less buffering and superior HD quality. Over 90 percent of YouTube videos streamed in peak hour are delivered in HD;
• Unlimited standard local and national calls6 included in unlimited broadband bundles;
• Easy management of all Foxtel services with the convenience of a single bill, one point of contact and 24/7 technical support.Foxtel’s ADSL Broadband bundles are ‘nbnTM ready’, meaning current and new customers on Foxtel ADSL Broadband plans today will be able to easily switch their service to the nbnTM network without needing to recontract5.
^Min cost ranges from $2,424 (Entertainment) to $5,040.06 (all channel packs plus HD) on a 24 month direct debit plan when Unlimited Broadband is added to an existing non-Platinum HD TV pack.
`Min cost $202 on direct debit for 1 month including the current monthly Foxtel Platinum HD TV subscription.
=Min cost $2,649 based on unlimited broadband and entertainment bundle on a 24 month direct debit plan, including $100 standard TV install fee and $125 Foxtel iQ3 equipment fee.
*Min cost $5,073.06 based on unlimited broadband and Platinum HD bundle on a 24 month direct debit plan, including $100 standard TV install fee, $125 Foxtel iQ3 equipment fee and a 1c per channel per year charge for Chelsea TV, LFCTV and MUTV.
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NBN Co usually refers to their service as nbn™. Foxtel writing it as nbnTM looks odd.
The Australian Financial Review reports Foxtel CEO Patrick Delany has brought in former Nine Entertainment managing director Amanda Laing and former Sky Deutschland executive Euan Smith as consultants. The report also says chief financial officer Gavin Dumsday, who has spent 15 years at Foxtel, has decided to leave.