Fairfax rumoured in streaming video service with Nine
Both media companies have agreed to invest $50 million each into upcoming video on-demand service, Stream Co.
- Published by David Knox
- on
Fairfax Media is in discussions with Nine to partner on its upcoming video on-demand service, Stream Co.
The Australian Financial Review reports the boards of both media companies have agreed to invest $50 million each into the new service which will charge consumers $10 a month.
It comes at a time when Seven and TEN are said to be talking to Foxtel’s Presto service, which recently dropped its price to $10 a month.
TEN digital boss Rebekah Horne said earlier this month the free-to-air network was open to partnerships and Foxtel – a joint venture between News Corporation and Telstra – had a thorough grasp of subscription businesses.
A joint deal on Stream Co. will fuel rumours that Fairfax are keen on a full company merge, which both has currently denied.
But The Australian reports Fairfax is contemplating buying shares from Nine’s US hedge fund owner Oaktree Capital.
However Fairfax shareholder Gina Rinehart is said to be more enthusiastic about a merger with TEN in which she owns a 10 per cent stake. Fairfax could merge with TEN if the company sold its underperforming non-core radio division, which suffered a 6 per cent fall in revenues in the last financial year, the newspaper reports.
2 Responses
I was ready to handover cash to Presto last week because I like the price, the range of movies looked good but they’re not in HD! Reading the FAQ they actually recommend not watching on a TV! This is why Australians download.
Fairfax does have some content through its news and sport archive, as well as some BBC content on SMH.TV, but most of Nine’s new Australian content these days is reality tv which has a very limited shelf life.
I am a Netflix subscriber, if I were to choose an Australian service to compliment it (and that’s a big if) , it would be the Foxtel/Seven/Ten service, rather than Nine/Fairfax. However, if ABC and SBS were to join up to the Nine/Fairfax service, then that would swap my preference.
But It all does depend on how much Australian content there is and how long the archive goes back. There’s plenty of old Aussie shows (70’s to now) I’d love to get the chance to watch again (without buying DVDs).