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Foxtel Play offers first-ever internet-only subscriptions

IPTV arrives to Foxtel with tablet, PC, Mac and smartphone access -and no home installation or lock-in contracts.

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2013-07-29_2352From today Foxtel subscriptions are now available on PC and Mac, with added tablet and smartphone access, as part of a serious pitch for new customers.

Foxtel Play has gone live today ahead of its official launch on Sunday August 11. The move is a first for Foxtel in a bid to lift its subscriptions beyond a 30% market penetration and to lure new customers who have been put off by home installation and lock-in contracts.

Foxtel Play subscriptions begin at $25 with no in-home installation, no lock-in contract, and the first 7 days is free. New subscribers can be watching content within minutes of signing up.

Foxtel Play will be initially available on eligible Samsung smart TVs, Xbox 360 and PC and Mac computers (coming soon to eligible LG smart TVs). Foxtel Go service is available as part of these subscriptions on up to two registered devices including iPads and selected iPhones and selected Samsung smartphones and tablets.

Foxtel Play packages will feature over 40 live channels and hundreds of catch up video on-demand titles.

There are four basic genre-based packages priced at $25 for one, $35 for two, $45 for three and $50 for four.

But the most enticing content, Sport and Premium Drama & Movies, must be purchased as add-ons for a further $25 each.

Foxtel believes its popular home cable and satellite service remains its full-suite of premium content, but Foxtel Play may tap into new customers and entice them to take out a full subscription.

Richard Freudenstein, Foxtel Chief Executive said, “We’re thrilled to offer Foxtel Play as a new way to introduce more people to our unparalleled programming. Our core set-top box subscribers are already experiencing great features, including Foxtel Go and On Demand. Now, Foxtel Play gives even more Australians who might not be able to access the core service the freedom and flexibility to enjoy Foxtel across multiple connected devices and at price points to suit different budgets and tastes.”

Jim Rudder, Foxtel Executive Director of Product added, “Foxtel Play broadens our internet TV service and gives customers a Foxtel internet TV offering across a host of devices. We’ve also had fantastic feedback to Foxtel Go since its launch and have responded by upping the number and type of devices customers can use to access it.”

$25 for one, $35 for two, $45 for three and $50 for four
ENTERTAINMENT
Fox8 / Lifestyle / Arena / LifeStyle YOU / TV1 / Comedy / MTV

DRAMA
UKTV / SoHo / FX / SF / Universal

DOCUMENTARY
A&E / Discovery / National Geographic / Nat Geo Adventure / BBC Knowledge / Turbo Max / History

KIDS
Disney / Disney Jr / Nickelodeon / Cartoon Network / Boomerang / Baby TV

Add-on Premium Packs: 1 pick $25, 2 pick $50 (not available as stand-alone)
SPORT
FOX Sports 1, 2, 3 / Footy Play / ESPN, ESPN2 / EuroSport / Speed / Fuel TV / TVN

MOVIES
Premiere / Action Adventure / Family / Drama Romance / Comedy / Thriller Crime / Masterpiece / Showcase / World Movies

INCLUDED with every package:
SKY News, SKY News Business, FOX Sports News, Channel [V], [V] Hits, Foxtel Go.

foxtelplay.com.au

29 Responses

  1. I tried this out yesterday. It’s decent (apart from the low sound quality) but I wouldn’t pay for any of the packages.
    The only things of interest to me are Aussie dramas, A-League and Lifestyle Food.

    We can get one match of A-League on SBS, I can probably just rent or buy the DVDs for the local shows and well then I’m left with one channel that isn’t even on Foxtel Play (There will probably be DVD releases for some of the shows anyway)

    For me, this is nowhere near worth the value of at least $25 per month. Movies are nice too but since it’s hidden under a $50 per month fee. Netflix serves me nicely.

  2. I only want to pay for what i want to watch. And secondly i dont want adds with mypay tv. until you can come to the party foxtel i wont be be paying. I will just go to the pub to watch my footy thats rugby league and A league .

  4. A PC/Mac is included in Foxtel Go or Foxtel play depending on what you buy. Looks like the marketing genius’s have been at work trying to over complicate the packages. This could be alot simpler.

    They should just make it:
    * Foxtel Residential (traditional subscription) with access to up to 3 internet delivery devices per STB (Samsung TV, XBox, iPhone, Tablet etc)
    * Foxtel Play with access to 3 internet delivery devices per subscription

    Also, T-Box should be brought into the internet delivery devices bucket as well. You still need a seperate subscription for T-Box and thep pricing and channels are different.

    $100 for everything (that still falls horribly shot of the traditional subscription seems very expensive and i can’t see foxtel getting the subscription penetration they want. Will probably get a handful of people who want say the intro package and sport for periods of…

  5. I’ve had Faxtel for years now and I was looking forward to watching it on my laptop seeing everyone else in the house is watching what they want to watch. But it seems that I can’t get the free option that Foxtel Go offers. It’s very annoying, but is this true? ore and I just an idiot?

  6. @Evil I had the same experience with the one with the T-Box, was ethernet connected and watching AFL was very difficult (and even TV1, Fox 8 etc was bad), also note that you get the Channel 7 feed on those matches with ads and all (on Fox Footy Play as the Fox Sports no advert version is blacked out). Only bonus was that it was Unmetered as Telstra was is my IP, due to were I live and none of the others providing ADSL 2+ in my area.

    Also have Hulu + ($8pm) and Netflix ($8pm) with a $5 pm GeoUnblock, so a total of $21pm or $252 per year ($277 in AU dollars) and same experience a high quality stream in surround that leaves the Foxtel feed for dead.

  7. It’s been around on Samsung for a year and until a few months ago was not working correctly. Not that Foxtel customer service ever made it anything but impossible to get the problem of sound sync resolved. If you have time and not human to interact with then yes spend whatever $$$’s and get this service, but in reality it’s an unnecessary luxury for which the money is better spent in numerous ways. Spend it on series DVD’s or go to a match/download it off the information superhighway thingo.

    Also forget HD, it’s not available and recording is non existent.

  8. responded by upping the number and type of devices customers can use to access it.”

    ================================

    Crap Foxtel!!! why do you continue to lie about these devices there’s 16 pages on Whirlpool trying to hack the app file to get it to work on the so called “Other Devices”

  9. Sorry Foxtel – $75 a month to watch Dexter and 2 matches of AFL…. no thanks.

    Why can’t they offer the ‘premium’ content on its own?

    I totally agree with you, @jesicka309 – if they offered single show passes, like quickflix for True Blood, we’d be interested.

  10. So why is it that despite the fact I can stream high quality 1080p video w/5.1 audio all the way from the US via Netflix over a bog-standard TPG ADSL2+ connection for 8 bucks a month…

    …Foxtel (and others) will only give me a low quality standard definition (at best) pixelfest for up to $100/month through much faster Australian servers?

    I got a month of free “Foxtel on Internet TV” last year when I bought a new TV and tried watching the Olympics on it. Low frame rate, poor 2006-era Youtube quality video. Switched over to BBC iPlayer and again got a fantastic HD stream.

  11. I have been a foxtel subscriber for approx 18 years, but find myself watching less and less every month, especially after buying a smart TV this year and discovered lots of tv shows can be viewed on you tube. The only way they are going to keep me in future is to halve their subscription fees, but as usual they are completely out of touch with whats going on around them. Foxtel may get a lot of people interested if their pricing was $30 basic and $20 premium (sport & movies) . Total $50 max. free access to play for existing subscribers.

  12. Agree with others that a package/price overhaul (and better channels and content) needs to urgently occur for those with the traditional access, otherwise this will backfire on Foxtel as ppl canx their plans and go IPTV. In my own case, this bill represents one of my larger disposable income bill, but the package design make it v.difficult to choose the channels I really want to keep.

    I did notice recently that my downloading with Go was no longer ‘unmetered’ via BigPond Cable (but was previously). So, I guess they are positioning themselves ready for NBN roll out where data allowances might be larger.

  13. Extremely expensive, especially given the quantity of extra data you’ll need to get any sort of value out of it.

    We desperately need a new online-only entrant who can figure out a way to offer a massive range of content online for $5-10 a week. Time for some new providers who will actually cater to what the market is asking for.

  14. (not available as stand-alone) = not interested

    I don’t see Foxtel’s penetration increasing much while they insist on a retail model of ‘if you want this jam donut you have to also buy this turd’. If I’m not going to eat it, I’m not going to buy it.

  15. Enough with this garbage – start offering current subscribers some value for our $$$$.

    TV1, Universal, Comedy, Arena, SF, Disney, 111 Hits and more should all be in HD right now!

    More HD is the only way to go and a better way to differentiate from Freeview.

  16. What do you price an unlimited data connection at though. If you already have one the drama package might make sense. If you have a capped plan or are paying mobile data rates this would be more expensive than the cable plans.

    The few shows worth watching on Fox8 would be much cheaper via Hulu or Netflix. Some of the Soho and FX cable shows may not be on Hulu or Netflix.

    The real value is getting all the US premium cable dramas and that will still cost you $50+ data costs.

  17. This is still no good to me. All I want is to watch Game of Thrones legally in Australia. For some reason, Game of Thrones airs on Showcase, which is classified as a ‘movie’ channel.
    If I wanted to pay the cheapest price to watch it legally in Australia:
    -$25 for one channel I don’t want to watch
    -$25 to get the actual channel I want
    Game of Thrones airs for ten weeks, with a one week break – that’s a 3 month subscription.
    That’s $150 a year to watch one television program.
    Until Foxtel starts offering show-only subscriptions (like what iTunes offered for GoT viewers this year) they’ll continue to see their share stagnate. I was really happy with the iTunes model, and it’s a shame Foxtel nixed it in order to gouge more money from consumers.

  18. @ Nick – agreed! In my opinion the lot with a HD STB should be $100 (so $40 essentials, $20 for essentials +, $15 movies. $15 sports, and $10 HD STB), not $130+.

  19. So these subscribers get access to TV1, MTV, SF, Nickelodeon, ESPN, ESPN2, and TVN via Foxtel Go and us subscribers who pay the big bucks can only see them on our STB’s? Some how this just doesn’t seem fair. But on a separate note, last I heard TVN were in the middle of selling up and were offering their channel free to Foxtel subscribers until a new broadcast agreement was made, so why is it offered in the $25 sports pack if they are giving it to Foxtel for free?

  21. Welcome to the future people. I was using Foxtel on my iPhone the other day around the city. I felt like I was a Korean. I was in Seoul late last year, everyone watching TV in HD on their tablets and phone. I was astonished. Now we can all do if!

  23. A step in the right direction at last.

    @David – have the AFL / NRL / released details of how many subscribers they have to the live app? I wonder if the numbers there have sent Fox a message?

    FWIW I signed up, and $90 for every game live, replays whenever you want etc; is a realistic value proposition.

    Otherwise I’m in @daqua’s camp. All I want is the AFL and World Movies – they can keep the rest.

  25. This will actually be useful for me. As someone who would like Foxtel, but refuses to pay the initial $47 a month for ‘Essentials’ (which is a crap combination of channels) it will allow me to get the channels I actually want .. took them long enough

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