Treasurer approves Foxtel takeover of Austar
Treasurer Wayne Swan approves Foxtel's takeover of Austar -but it still needs the approval of the ACCC.
- Published by David Knox
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Foxtel got an early Christmas present with Treasurer Wayne Swan approving its takeover of regional Pay TV provider Austar yesterday -but the bid still needs the approval of The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
Swan signed off on the deal after the Foreign Investment Review Board also approved it.
“The government welcomes foreign investment in Australia and continues to ensure that investments are consistent with Australia’s national interest,” he said.
The ACCC recently postponed its decision on the deal, allowing Foxtel more time to provide further submissions.
“I have therefore advised Foxtel that, while I have approved the proposal … a satisfactory resolution of the competition issues raised by the ACCC is still required,” Mr Swan said.
Foxtel’s director of policy and corporate affairs Adam Suckling said, “Foxtel welcomes the Foreign Investment Review Board’s decision to approve the application by Foxtel to acquire Austar.
“Foxtel strongly believes the evidence shows Foxtel’s acquisition of Austar will not lead to a substantial lessening of competition in any market.”
Foxtel is half owned by Telstra, with James Packer’s Consolidated Media Holdings and Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation each holding a 25 per cent stake.
Source: Herald Sun, The Australian
17 Responses
Mat, You may now get more channels, but we all now will be paying a lot more for Pay TV, If it wasn;t for Fox Sports, I would never have Pay TV
We need more Pay TV competition not less!!!
@Davis S do you realise this wont create a monopoly because you can’t get Austar in Foxtel areas anyway.
A good decision which could not come soon enough. For those complaining about Foxtel I will gladly swap my Austar service for your Foxtel any day.
I pay more than you do for lesser services and that’s hardly fair as its the same product. I have experienced Foxtel on satellite when living in W.A. but now having moved to an Austar service area I’m being penalised. My family who live in a metropolitan area just 150 km away from me now pay far less than I do and they have a full Foxtel service. I can’t afford the same service yet I paid for the cost of the install of the satellite equipment. Let’s stop the assumption that competition exists at the moment and let those of us in Austar areas have the same service as those in Foxtel areas.
People who think having Foxtel control even more of the Australian pay TV market than they already do will be good for Australian content, or TV in Australia in general are living in dreamland. Foxtel are already screwing their subscribers at every turn, now there’s even less to stop them from doing it to even more people. Monopolies are always bad in the media, monopolies involving the likes of Murdoch and Telstra are even worse.
This is a terrible decision by Swan and I’m sure the ACCC will follow suit (they’re hardly going to publicly disagree with the Treasurer) and it just goes to show how cowardly our politicians are when confronted by wealth and influence.
However, if things are regulated properly it could be good for Austar customers, of which I’m one.
If you check the Foxtel website, Austar customers pay slightly more for their respective packages than Foxtel customers, And (and here’s the biggie), Foxtel customers get the IQ box for free with their subscription (that’s the decoder with the built-in hard drive that can record shows Plus has free-to-air digital channels). Austar’s equivalent – MyStar – is $20 a month on top of the basic subscription!!!! Austar’s free box is a dinosaur. It’s a shocking rip-off.
“”@@network tv says:
December 24, 2011 at 6:09 pm””
When and where did Foxtel say they were going to raise prices 20%??
I’ve looked everywhere and cannot find any article, press release or website story that backs up this statement.
The sad thing is, if any company with a monopoly (and our ISPs are heading that way too) it would be terrible because our Govt and watchdogs like the ACCC have in the past proven to be full of hot air and without any real bite to back up their bark.
I think there is a real problem with having a Pay TV monopoly.
When Pay TV was intorduced in this country the tender process mandated three separately owned nation wide providers would be appointed. What happended to that?
Government is actively preventing other providers entering the sector and the lack of competition has resulted in the obscene prices that Foxtel charge and the very poor level of content.
Best thing about mystar is the fta channels will foxtel boxes have this?
breaking news
foxtel have just announced you are going to have to pay 20% more then what you already pay for foxtel.
one company should not be able to control pay TV.
@Truth Amen to that! The more Australian production the better. The FTA’s have dropped the ball so it’s good to see certainty in the STV sector. Now let’s double that content spend requirement!
It’s a Christmas miracle! Hopefully now the ACCC can just finally reveal their decision then the entire country can have a great pay-TV service instead of being left with a second-rate one just because of their geographical location.
Nearly there.Lets hope the ACCC don’t sit on this for months.
Sooner we poor Austar subscribers get access to all the channels including the missing HD channels the better.
Thanks Swanny. Only good decision he has made since being appointed treasurer. Let’s hope the ACCC makes the right decision too.
@Alex, you are spot on, the mystar box is hopeless, surely the Foxtel IQ box is a lot better, bring on the takeover!
Hopefully it will mean a new box to replace the totally uselss MyStar box.
Great news! With Foxtel buying Austar, there will be more money for the company to make Australian content. The industry’d economic condition will improve two fold and more Aussie content means more jobs and more product to sell overseas.