tag:theconversation.com,2011:/africa/topics/foxtel-play-32133/articlesFoxtel Play – The Conversation2017-06-16T05:04:03Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/794962017-06-16T05:04:03Z2017-06-16T05:04:03ZWith the rise of subscription and online TV, we need to rethink local content rules<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/173972/original/file-20170615-23542-fqy55g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Kate McCartney and Kate McLennan in The Katering Show (2015), which began as a short form web series.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">idmb</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The newly released Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) report on Film, Television and Digital Games <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/8679.0Main%20Features12015-16?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=8679.0&issue=2015-16&num=&view=">2015-16</a> offers fascinating insights into how our screen media landscape has changed over the past four years.</p>
<p>A key factor has been the <a href="https://theconversation.com/netflix-arrival-will-be-a-tipping-point-for-tv-in-australia-38386">introduction</a> of subscription video-on-demand services in early 2015. Indeed, the report notes that the income of subscription broadcasters and channel providers (A$5.3 billion), such as Netflix, Stan and Foxtel, now exceeds that of commercial free-to-air broadcasters (A$3.9 billion).</p>
<p>So, what does this mean for the Australian screen media landscape?</p>
<p>Set against the <a href="https://theconversation.com/ten-networks-problems-are-history-repeating-79420">Ten Network’s woes</a> and media reforms being <a href="https://mumbrella.com.au/fifield-tens-voluntary-administration-wake-call-opponents-proposed-media-reforms-451413">debated</a> by the federal government, the ascendancy of subscription broadcasting adds to the worries of free-to-air broadcasters. </p>
<p>The number of commercial free-to-air broadcast businesses dropped over the four-year period measured by the ABS report from 24 to 14. Income declined from $4.6 billion in 2011-12 (the time of the last report) to $3.9 billion (2015-16) and operating profit before tax from $996 million to $420 million.</p>
<iframe src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/gYKin/2/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" oallowfullscreen="oallowfullscreen" msallowfullscreen="msallowfullscreen" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Subscription broadcasters and channel providers saw a huge increase in income - from $4.6 billion to $5.3 billion - although their total expenses also increased. (The total number of businesses in the area declined slightly from 36 to 32 in this period).</p>
<iframe src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/4x4C9/2/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" oallowfullscreen="oallowfullscreen" msallowfullscreen="msallowfullscreen" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>A recent Roy Morgan report found that more than one in three Australians now have <a href="https://www.roymorgan.com/findings/7242-netflix-subscriptions-march-2017-201706080957">Netflix</a>, an increase of 20% in the first quarter for 2017. <a href="http://www.roymorgan.com/findings/7118-netflix-subscribers-and-commercial-television-december-2016-201701310906">According</a> to Roy Morgan, </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Netflix subscribers watch less commercial TV than others. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>And Foxtel last week announced a revision of its streaming and on-demand service, Foxtel Play - now called Foxtel Now - after buying out its joint venture partner in Presto, the Seven Network, and shutting Presto down. Meanwhile, we are still yet to see the full impact of Amazon Prime in Australia, which arrived here late last year.</p>
<h2>Other threats to free to air</h2>
<p>But free-to-air TV faces other threats. This report shows there has also been an enormous increase in non-TV production for online distribution. The makers of these shows use platforms like YouTube to gain access to a global audience, far greater than that available through traditional TV broadcast. </p>
<p>Many <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-battle-for-audiences-as-free-tv-viewing-continues-its-decline-58051">Australian YouTubers with large followings</a> and subscribers have a greater audience than some TV programs. For instance, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/Reslim">Jamie and Nikki</a>, a Melbourne-based couple, have more than a million subscribers and receive hundreds of thousands of views within days of uploading new videos, without any association to traditional TV networks.</p>
<p>There are also examples of shows such as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/LeadBalloonTV">The Katering Show</a>, which have <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/the-katering-shows-kates-to-tackle-breakfast-tv-in-new-abc-series-get-krackn-20170215-gue17a.html">moved</a> from a short format web-series to a long format TV series. The Katering Show’s makers have created a new full-length series for the ABC titled Get Krack!n, which is co-funded by Film Victoria and NBC Universal’s US comedy streaming channel Seeso.</p>
<p>Screen Australia CEO Graeme Mason <a href="https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/sa/media-centre/news/2017/06-15-abs-survey-results?utm_source=email&utm_medium=media-release&utm_campaign=abs-survey-results">pointed out yesterday</a> that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>online content creators… have delivered exponential production growth, now representing $93.6m of non-TV production costs compared to just $5.5m in the 2011/12 survey.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The number of webisodes increased from 107 (2011-12) to 3248 (2015-16). As Screen Australia <a href="https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/sa/media-centre/news/2017/06-15-abs-survey-results?utm_source=email&utm_medium=media-release&utm_campaign=abs-survey-results">noted</a>, </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Since 2012, Screen Australia has funded 107 online projects including Soul Mates, The Katering Show and Starting from Now.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qzbOBzQpUX4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The first episode of Starting From Now, which began as a web series and was later picked up by SBS 2.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The digital game developers’ sector has also seen an <a href="https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/sa/media-centre/news/2017/06-15-abs-survey-results?utm_source=email&utm_medium=media-release&utm_campaign=abs-survey-results">increase</a> in employment - up 26% since the 2011/12 survey. Income in the sector rose from $89 million to $111 million. </p>
<iframe src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/pohIX/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" oallowfullscreen="oallowfullscreen" msallowfullscreen="msallowfullscreen" width="100%" height="500"></iframe>
<p>Then there is the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-rise-of-the-pro-player-as-australia-hosts-its-richest-computer-gaming-event-76865?sa=google&sq=esports&sr=5">increased</a> interest in eSports. Sydney <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-rise-of-the-pro-player-as-australia-hosts-its-richest-computer-gaming-event-76865?sa=google&sq=esports&sr=5">recently</a> hosted a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive event with a record $260,000 in prize money. The AFL is interested in this area, with the Adelaide Crows <a href="http://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/adelaide-crows-buys-professional-gaming-team-legacy-esports-best-known-for-their-league-of-legends-team/news-story/ad0a43e10f1d5a90f7fb2bc6412c5138">recently</a> acquiring its own eSports team.
There is also <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-rise-of-the-pro-player-as-australia-hosts-its-richest-computer-gaming-event-76865?sa=google&sq=esports&sr=5">The eSports Network</a>, a newly formed media company that plans to bring eSports to Australian screens in the near future. </p>
<p>Other key findings of the ABS report include a slight rise in the income of film and video production businesses and digital game developers. This is despite a fall in the overall number of game productions from 245 in 2011-12 to just 178.</p>
<iframe src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/D2IHM/6/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" oallowfullscreen="oallowfullscreen" msallowfullscreen="msallowfullscreen" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Based on Ten’s recent announcement and the continued discussion around the revenue decline in television, Australia’s television networks need to rethink what a network is in this ever-changing media landscape. </p>
<p>Seven has made the first move here, particularly in relation to its recent re-negotiations with Yahoo. Opting to keep both its <a href="https://7live.com.au">seven.com.au</a> website and <a href="https://au.yahoo.com">Yahoo7</a> separate, Clive Dickens, Seven’s chief digital officer, <a href="https://mumbrella.com.au/critically-important-seven-no-longer-seen-broadcaster-clive-dickens-following-amended-yahoo7-deal-451612">observed that</a>, “Seven is no longer purely a broadcaster, it is a total video company”. </p>
<h2>What about local content?</h2>
<p>These trends raise questions about how to provide adequate local content. Should <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-a-quota-the-key-to-getting-netflix-and-co-to-spend-more-on-australian-content-60308">Netflix and co</a> be subject to a local content quota in the same way that the free-to-air broadcasters are?</p>
<p>But this discussion needs to broaden beyond subscription TV providers: it must be consider all platforms and screens. According to the recent <a href="http://www.oztam.com.au/documents/Other/Australian%20Multi%20Screen%20Report%20Q1%202016%20FINAL.pdf">Australian Multiscreen Reports</a>, Australians now spend an average eight hours and 33 minutes per month watching online video via a PC or Laptop, up from six hours and 57 minutes just a year ago. </p>
<p>Australians’ viewing habits are continuing to change. We must rethink the local content quotas in light of this and the new media landscape. A quota on specific platforms will no longer be sufficient as the screen media industry evolves.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/79496/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marc C-Scott is a board member of C31 Melbourne (Community Television Station).</span></em></p>New ABS figures on film, TV and digital gaming show that subscription broadcasters and online content creators are booming. Yet local content quotas only apply to free-to-air broadcasters.Marc C-Scott, Lecturer in Screen Media, Victoria UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/724942017-02-08T03:23:38Z2017-02-08T03:23:38ZFight over live-streamed sport to go on after final bell sounds<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155825/original/image-20170207-4240-5qs3ul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Nearly 300,000 people tuned into two live streams on Facebook of the Anthony Mundine-Danny Green fight.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/David Mariuz</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>When a Brisbane boxing fan who paid $59.95 for “live and exclusive” viewing of last Friday’s Danny Green v Anthony Mundine boxing match <a href="http://www.news.com.au/sport/sports-life/boxing-fan-live-streams-mundine-v-green-fight-over-facebook-live-wins-internet/news-story/72694120291078080d9b209fac9e67c4">streamed it off his TV</a> through a smartphone and Facebook Live, he landed quite a blow beneath Foxtel’s belt. An estimated 300,000 <a href="http://www.bandt.com.au/media/foxtel-take-legal-action-streamers-green-v-mundine-fight">tuned in</a> via this and another unauthorised stream.</p>
<p>This is the latest skirmish over premium live sport in Australia. Foxtel’s high-priced oligopolistic control over Australian pay TV has again clashed with the demands of sport fans and the increasingly sophisticated capture and relay technologies available to them.</p>
<p>In a constantly changing TV sport environment, pay-TV providers have many more bruising bouts ahead of them – unless they let go of their conventional model of TV-based subscription and move to multiple platforms.</p>
<h2>Foxtel scores an own goal</h2>
<p>The curious feature of <a href="https://mumbrella.com.au/foxtel-threatens-to-sue-as-facebook-pirates-plunder-mundine-vs-green-fight-424052">Foxtel’s response</a> to this purported act of mass piracy is the surprise at its occurrence, and its ham-fistedness. The <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-04/green-v-mundine-live-streamers-warned-to-brace-for-legal-action/8241276">national coverage</a> accorded to Foxtel’s open threat to sue the <a href="http://www.bandt.com.au/media/foxtel-take-legal-action-streamers-green-v-mundine-fight">“two ordinary blokes”</a> who streamed the Mundine-Green fight achieved twin outcomes.</p>
<p>First, it elevated the profile of the two men, Brett Hevers and Darren Sharpe, who have become unlikely symbols of online resistance against perceived corporate greed. </p>
<p>As half-owner of Foxtel, News Corp Australia’s flagrant <a href="http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/news/two-face-5-years-jail-streaming-green-mundine-figh/3140108/">use of its news media syndication</a> to canvass five-year jail terms and $60,000 fines for the live-streamers was a self-administered punch by Goliath in his contest with David.</p>
<p>Foxtel’s decision to charge so much for access to the fight contrasts with <a href="https://mumbrella.com.au/foxtel-threatens-to-sue-as-facebook-pirates-plunder-mundine-vs-green-fight-424052">Hevers’ claim</a> that $10 would have been a fairer amount to pay. This is especially the case as pay-per-view subscribers would already have incurred the cost of ongoing subscriptions to be in a position to watch it. </p>
<p>Second, that Facebook Live and similar services can be used to bypass restrictions on subscription-based television content has now been advertised in headlines across Australia. A previously low-profile part of the <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=WQacCAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=the+informal+media+economy&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjptYHn1_zRAhWMNpQKHSRnA1IQ6AEIGTAA#v=onepage&q&f=false">informal media economy</a> is now common knowledge.</p>
<p>Almost the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/may/04/twitter-periscope-winner-mayweather-pacquiao">exact same scenario</a> unfolded in the US just two years earlier during HBO and Showtime’s live pay-per-view coverage of the blockbuster fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. The only difference was the brand of the smartphone app used to circumvent the control of broadcast rights holders over access to the fight. The Twitter-owned Periscope service was the live-streaming app of choice among users on that occasion.</p>
<p>At least HBO and Showtime had the good sense to <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-32584454">limit their public statements</a> on the use of Periscope during the fight. </p>
<p>Foxtel’s errors are compounded by Facebook’s efforts to build a clear association between sport consumption and its Live service in the minds of millions of users. A reported US$4.4 million <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-enlists-soccer-elite-to-help-live-video-1469727818">has been paid</a> to popular athletes, teams and sports media companies around the world to create video content for Facebook Live.</p>
<p>The combination of Foxtel, Hevers, Sharpe and <a href="http://www.bandt.com.au/media/foxtel-take-legal-action-streamers-green-v-mundine-fight">300,000 viewers on Facebook</a> during the Green-Mundine fight has added to this push. The stage could be set for a knock ’em down, drag ’em out corporate tussle between Facebook and Foxtel.</p>
<h2>Can Foxtel keep up?</h2>
<p>Despite these missteps, it would be a mistake to assume that Foxtel is powerless against so-called digital disruptors. </p>
<p>Increased marketing of the Foxtel Play streaming service, particularly following the recent closure of Presto, and the offer of a bundled broadband service to new subscribers are indicative of an evolving business model designed to deliver content across multiple screens. </p>
<p>Actions are also being taken to counter rising competition from operators in the telecommunications sector. </p>
<p>When Optus <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com.au/how-optus-stole-the-english-premier-league-from-foxtel-2016-5">seized the rights</a> to the English Premier League from Foxtel for its mobile and broadband platforms, Foxtel contracted with beIN Sports to carry some premium European football and games on delay, and other material from the channels of six leading English Premier League clubs – at <a href="http://www.foxsports.com.au/football/epl-on-fox-sports-foxtel-ceos-open-letter-to-fans-about-optusfox-deals/news-story/9a26b28b92aad4bc596104dadb3efae1">no extra cost</a> to its subscribers.</p>
<p>So, Foxtel isn’t averse to giving away sport content when it suits its commercial interests. In this case, it did it to prevent the churning of paying customers to other services.</p>
<p>Rumbles like the one over the Mundine-Green live stream will no doubt proliferate. This technical knockout comes as Foxtel and other sport content owners transition from a service originally based on a big TV in the living room or the pub to a multiplicity of anytime, anywhere viewing platforms.</p>
<p>These owners won’t just have to deal with the spread of the NBN. They also must appreciate that the use of digital media technology is at least as much about capturing and uploading mobile content – say from the stands of a football stadium or the seats surrounding a boxing ring – as it is about receiving an expensive one-way communication provided by someone else.</p>
<p>Finally, there were other, non-pugilistic sport viewing opportunities on Australian TV last Friday night. People might have watched the A-League football match between Brisbane Roar and Sydney FC on free-to-air SBS.</p>
<p>Or, of greater historical significance, they could have resisted the dubious pleasure of paying $59.95 to watch <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/afl/eddie-everywhere-mcguire-missing-from-collingwoods-historic-aflw-debut-20170203-gu5gdi.html">Eddie McGuire</a> host the boxing in favour of witnessing – without charge – the opening match of the AFL women’s league between his Collingwood team and Carlton on Seven. </p>
<p>Women’s sport is on the rise on free-to-air TV. Anti-siphoning laws continue to prevent many of the major sports events in Australia from becoming the <a href="http://www.acma.gov.au/Industry/Broadcast/Television/TV-content-regulation/sport-anti-siphoning-tv-content-regulation-acma">exclusive property of subscription TV</a>. And then there is the constant, rapid development of disruptive technologies and services. </p>
<p>All together, this means the pay-TV sector needs to adapt quickly in appealing to subscribers whose attention now moves freely between different screens.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/72494/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Rowe has received funding from the Australian Research Council to support research relating to this article: Struggling for Possession: The Control and Use of Online Media Sport (with Brett Hutchins, DP0877777); 'A Nation of "Good Sports"? Cultural Citizenship and Sport in Contemporary Australia' (DP130104502), and 'Australian Cultural Fields: National and Transnational Dynamics' (with Tony Bennett et al, DP140101970). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brett Hutchins has received funding from the Australian Research Council to support research relating to this article: The Mobile Media Sport Moment: Investigating the Pivotal Role of Sport in Mobile Media Content, Markets and Technologies (FT130100506; <a href="http://artsonline.monash.edu.au/mobilemediasport/">http://artsonline.monash.edu.au/mobilemediasport/</a>), and Struggling for Possession: The Control and Use of Online Media Sport (with David Rowe, DP0877777).</span></em></p>Foxtel’s high-priced oligopolistic control over Australian pay TV has again clashed with the demands of sport fans and the increasingly sophisticated capture and relay technologies available to them.David Rowe, Emeritus Professor of Cultural Research, Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney UniversityBrett Hutchins, Professor of Media and Communications Studies, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/666832016-10-11T05:14:16Z2016-10-11T05:14:16ZBuyouts mean the future of Australian video-on-demand is hard to picture<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/141174/original/image-20161011-3903-1y6nqdd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The hugely popular Game of Thrones could be a crucial drawcard for Foxtel Play's new viewers.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP Image/Village Roadshow Production</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The dust is showing no sign of settling on Australia’s video-on-demand (VoD) media landscape. The past week has seen two seismic shifts which will have a flow-on effect on almost anyone who watches subscription-based television.</p>
<p>First came the news of <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-10-04/presto-to-disappear-as-seven-sells-stake-to-foxtel/7900778">Foxtel’s takeover of Presto</a>, with the latter’s customers being transferred to Foxtel Play when Presto shuts down next year.</p>
<p>Then the ailing VoD service <a href="https://www.quickflix.com.au/">Quickflix</a> gained a surprise stay of execution, being <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/business/media-and-marketing/quickflix-snapped-up-for-13m-by-us-entrepreneur-20161004-gruqoq.html">saved by a US buyer</a> after going into <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-shake-up-in-australias-busy-tv-industry-as-quickflix-calls-in-the-administrators-58487">voluntary receivership</a> earlier this year.</p>
<p>The shakeup has left viewers wondering where their subscription fees are going to end up, and what content they will be able to access once the merry-go-round stops.</p>
<h2>Quickflix’s future?</h2>
<p>Quickflix’s problems began in 2014, when former stakeholder HBO sold its shares to Nine Entertainment. The following year the shares were transferred to Stan, Nine’s new joint VoD venture with Fairfax Media. </p>
<p>When Quickflix went into voluntary receivership, it stated Stan’s unwillingness to bargain with potential buyers as a key reason for its <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-shake-up-in-australias-busy-tv-industry-as-quickflix-calls-in-the-administrators-58487">demise</a>.</p>
<p>Quickflix has now been saved, although it is not clear what it will become or what its focus will be. US media entrepreneur Erik Pence has paid A$1.3 million, and the holding for the purchase, Karma Media, plans to retain 24 employees and pay entitlements to former employees. </p>
<p>There will <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/business/media-and-marketing/quickflix-snapped-up-for-13m-by-us-entrepreneur-20161004-gruqoq.html">reportedly</a> be more investment in marketing and a shift towards more niche content. This latter strategy has been a globally successful tactic for other VoD and online platforms such as <a href="http://netflix.com">Netflix</a>, <a href="http://youtube.com">YouTube</a> and <a href="https://www.fullscreen.com">Fullscreen</a>. </p>
<p>But it is unclear whether Quickflix’s new service will support the production of Australian content in any way – or even whether it will primarily offer movies, television series, or both. This makes it difficult to analyse the impact its re-emergence will have on the Australian VoD landscape.</p>
<h2>Hey Presto</h2>
<p>In contrast, the future of Presto has been made very clear indeed. Foxtel has acquired Seven West Media’s interests in the service and confirmed that it will cease on January 31, 2017. </p>
<p>This arguably makes Presto the first real casualty of the battle that has sprung up in Australia’s crowded VoD landscape.</p>
<p>Presto has been constantly reported as struggling for subscribers against competition from Netflix and Stan. A recent Roy Morgan <a href="http://www.roymorgan.com/findings/6839-netflix-stan-presto-subscription-video-on-demand-may-2016-201606141025">report</a> from this year showed how far Presto was behind its competition. </p>
<p>Presto had 142,000 subscriptions, less than half of the 332,000 signed up to its local competitor Stan. Even combined, these numbers are far short of international giant Netflix, which has <a href="http://www.roymorgan.com/findings/6839-netflix-stan-presto-subscription-video-on-demand-may-2016-201606141025">1,878,000 Australian subscriptions</a>.</p>
<p>Foxtel plans to move Presto’s subscribers over to its internet-delivered service Foxtel Play by the end of this year. In a <a href="https://www.foxtel.com.au/about/media-centre/press-releases/2016/foxtel-revamps-its-streaming-video-service.html">media release</a> Foxtel promised that “Presto customers will get access to more premium first run television programs and more recent movies than ever before” – raising the question of whether they were holding back on content before the takeover.</p>
<p>The Foxtel Play service also may not be what current Presto customers are expecting, nor is there a guarantee that it will end up costing the same.</p>
<h2>Does Foxtel really want to compete?</h2>
<p>It is clear that Foxtel is trying to compete with current VoD services, as underlined by its <a href="https://www.foxtel.com.au/about/media-centre/press-releases/2016/foxtel-revamps-its-streaming-video-service.html">recent announcement</a> that Foxtel Play entry prices will be cut to A$10 from the current A$25. But Foxtel Play’s <a href="https://www.foxtel.com.au/content/dam/foxtel/foxtelplay/support/pp-change/foxtel-play-pp-changes.pdf">subscription pricing structure</a> is much more complicated than other VoD services. </p>
<p>Unlike <a href="https://www.netflix.com/au/">Netflix</a> or <a href="https://www.stan.com.au">Stan</a>, which charge a flat fee for all content (although Netflix charges extra fees for more screens and HD qaulity), Foxtel Play has different prices for different content packages, much like Foxtel’s pay TV pricing structure. The content on Foxtel Play is not HD, although will <a href="http://decidertv.com/page/2016/10/7/foxtel-play-foxtel-go-will-make-the-switch-to-high-definition-foxtel">reportedly</a> be upgraded in 2017. </p>
<p>Foxtel Play’s <a href="https://www.foxtel.com.au/about/media-centre/press-releases/2016/foxtel-revamps-its-streaming-video-service.html">packages</a> include a basic offering of Documentary, Lifestyle or Kids programming at A$10 each per month, plus Premium Drama and Premium Entertainment options at A$15 each per month. Customers can also add Sport (A$25 per month) or Movies (A$20 per month) on top of these. So it seems likely that many customers end up paying more than those subscribing to other VoD services.</p>
<p>At first glance, Foxtel shutting down Presto could appear to be a way in which it can gain new Foxtel Play subscribers while dissuading viewers from defecting to Stan or Netflix. But the actual numbers may be small, according to Roy Morgan’s recent <a href="http://www.roymorgan.com/findings/6990-most-presto-subscribers-already-have-netflix-stan-or-foxtel-too-august-2016-201610050930">research</a>. </p>
<p>Of the 143,000 Australian homes with Presto, 77% already have an alternative VoD or pay TV service, which could include Netflix, Stan and Foxtel. Of Presto households, 55% also use Netflix and 27% have signed up to Stan. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, almost half of Presto subscribers already have Foxtel, mainly through its traditional set-top box service. Foxtel itself has <a href="https://mumbrella.com.au/foxtel-admits-subscriber-figures-include-presto-users-but-claims-cable-still-biggest-growth-driver-311968">admitted</a> to using Presto subscription numbers to bump up its own quoted subscriber growth numbers for 2015. </p>
<p>But Foxtel has two key advantages over Netflix and Stan. The first is HBO content, most notably the wildly popular series Game of Thrones. Next year Foxtel will <a href="https://www.foxtel.com.au/about/media-centre/press-releases/2016/foxtel-revamps-its-streaming-video-service.html">significantly increase</a> the amount of HBO content it offers.</p>
<p>The second advantage is sport, which fittingly is where the fiercest competition is set to play out among rival platforms.</p>
<h2>Into the sporting arena</h2>
<p>Sport streaming is poised as the next battleground in Australian video streaming, VoD and video subscriptions. If planned changes to <a href="http://www.acma.gov.au/Industry/Broadcast/Television/TV-content-regulation/sport-anti-siphoning-tv-content-regulation-acma">anti-siphoning rules</a> are made, the battle will become even more intense.</p>
<p>Foxtel Play’s pricing will allow access to Foxtel’s sports package for A$35 a month, A$15 cheaper than its pay TV sports package. But is it cheap enough?</p>
<p>Telcos themselves have now become sports broadcasters, with both <a href="https://www.telstra.com.au/tv-movies-music/sport">Telstra</a> and <a href="http://www.optus.com.au/shop/entertainment/sport">Optus</a> heavily invested in sports streaming – the latter after <a href="https://theconversation.com/optus-the-new-player-in-australias-sports-media-rights-battle-50069">sensationally pinching</a> the rights to the Premier League from Foxtel. </p>
<p>Seven’s recent broadcast of the Rio 2016 Olympics also <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-rio-olympics-are-a-test-case-for-the-future-of-sports-broadcasting-63589">raised many questions</a> about future sports broadcasting and media rights. With Seven no longer involved with Presto, it could set its sights on sport and furthering its partnership with Telstra.</p>
<p>If Telstra were to <a href="https://theconversation.com/bed-fellows-no-more-its-foxtel-versus-telstra-in-battle-for-online-subscribers-56672">sell its stake</a> in Foxtel, it may decide to invest more money in becoming a direct competitor to Foxtel Play.</p>
<p>This will open opportunities for streaming not only for major international competitions, but leagues that currently enjoy less funding and publicity. The Women’s AFL could be a perfect place to start – offering a homegrown product to homegrown viewers.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/66683/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marc C-Scott is a board member of C31 Melbourne (Community Television Station).</span></em></p>With Quickflix saved but Presto on the way out, it’s hard to predict who will emerge as the winners as battle for video-on-demand viewers intensifies.Marc C-Scott, Lecturer in Screen Media, Victoria UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.