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TV1 / SF to close on Foxtel

Pay TV channels TV1 and SF will close at the end of December.

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FINAL_TV12012_STRAPSubscription TV channels TV1 and SF will close at the end of December. MediaWeek reported channel CEO Peter Hudson informed staff yesterday about a loss of a carriage deal with Foxtel.

A spokesperson confirmed the report to TV Tonight yesterday.

The owners of the channel, and sister channel SF, are CBS Studios International, NBC Universal and Sony Pictures Television International. They were unable to negotiate a satisfactory carriage deal with Foxtel to replace their current agreement which expires in December 2013 and both TV1 and SF could face closure.

A spokesperson for Foxtel told Mediaweek, “Channel agreements regularly come up for renegotiation and our current agreements with TV1 and SF are due to expire at the end of this year. We are currently in discussion with several of our content suppliers to determine new arrangements and will continue to maintain both a replacement general entertainment channel and a dedicated science fiction channel on the Foxtel platform.

“We are confident that, as a result of those discussions, our most popular content will continue to be available to our subscribers. More details will be provided once new agreements have been finalised.”

2013-08-18_0021TV1 started on the Galaxy platform in 1995 and has been one of Foxtel’s more popular channels with a mix of retro and crime content, including the Australian productions Killing Time, The King and Stupid Stupid Man. SF launched as SciFi in 2006 and rebranded as SF last year. It is currently producing the local sci-fi film Arrowhead.

The news follows Movie Networks closing at the end of last year after Foxtel negotiated direct deals with Hollywood Studios, and STUDIO replacing arts channel Ovation in 2010.

35 Responses

  1. Will this make way for new sport channel (eg beIN sport Australia, Fox NRL and Rugby Channel) and increase the bandwith of the HD Channels?

    Hope so as TV1 is nothing but repeats and in fuzzy SD.

  2. Can’t say I’ll miss TV1- I flicked through today to see they were showing Bad Boys yet again. SF I will miss, but hopefully Foxtel’s Black and Gold version will still show the same content.

  3. No! I’ve never really watched SF as I had Austar so never had it in the past & don’t know if I have it now but think I do. But I love TV1. Sure it plays repeats of the same things over & over that I’ve watched before but it is my childhood. It gave me my favourite show & has a number of shows I love on it, or has had them in the past. Such a shame to lose it 🙁

  5. Oh no – where am I going to see Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order: Trial By Jury, Law & Order: LA, CSI, CSI: New York, CSI: Miami, NCIS, NCIS: LA…

  6. @marauderxp Sci-Fi was not put together by Foxtel but by the same channel owner as TV1, it’s actually run out of the same office. That’s why sci-fi content that had once been on TV1 moved there.

    TV1 is still a high rating channel for Foxtel, although it’s mostly because of the crime programs these days. I miss the fun early days of Foxtel when TV1 played all sorts of 60s and 70s TV shows that haven’t since found a home on any Foxtel or FTA channels (such as Maude, Brady Bunch Variety Hour, Space Angel, Sonny & Cher Show, Soap, The Twilight Zone). Having said that though – Nick at Nite is still the channel I miss the most.

  7. Funny how some say here to watch FTA channel to watch repeats of TV shows that air on TV1 when I don’t watch FTA in the first place. Shame about Sf too, it got me hooked to Warehouse 13 but mainly Continuum but have been able to source second season as it took too long to get on Sf….hope Foxtel can create their own channels and have the same content… Ughhh

  9. What a loss. TV1 is an original channel, a flagship along with Fox8 and Arena. SF is also a great channel.
    The switch over from Movie Network to the Foxtel movies was abysmal. It was poorly handled and executed and the outcome has been extremely subpar. I cannot imagine this being any different.
    Perhaps they should use this time to really look at all their channels and give customers a major overhaul. With proper brands for each channel and better packages.

  10. @tihsamikah the +2 channels were designed more for WA. but they are handy, it always pays to record a show on the standard channel and the +2 channel. because occasionally the start or ending may be cut due to an EPG error.

    Foxtel really need to overhaul there channels. advertise them better on their over channels and not move shows from one channel to another.

    bones for an example is on FOX8 and SF. its stupid.

  13. Do commentors actually read the article before they comment or just comment on the headline?T

    The article says “Foxel will continue to maintain both a replacement general entertainment channel and a dedicated science fiction channel on the Foxtel platform.”

    Obviously foxtel will negotiate direclty with the content suppliers to reduce their costs exactly the same way they did with the movie channels. All this will do is cut out the middle man and reduce the quality of what is provided (as is the case with the movie channel change over).

  15. maxxdude – The first Sharknado movie was shown on Universal and it is probable that the sequel would be shown there as well.

    In fact a lot if not all of the Syfy movies has been shown on Universal not SF.

  16. Just to add to my previous comment, it is ridiculous that the replacement channels will likely be Foxtel owned which further reduces competition in the Australian STV arena. Soon we’ll be like Sky in the U.K. or Bell and Shaw in Canada where the STV platform owns a major share of channels. I think it’s about time the government intervened and made a law regarding ownership quotas (e.g. no more than 15% of total channels) to allow for more Australian and international business.
    @ Pertinax – don’t forget about Lost Girl which is SF’s best performer.

  17. just as well there are so many nice addons for XBMC on the PC to watch.<<

    @MHA

    Well said. As with all of Foxtel's entertainment channels, Foxtel already pays as least amount as possible, and tries to knock out every bit of external content runners because they are scared of the future where competition can obtain access to those channels. This is why Foxtel screwed Movie Network and left them hanging, because Foxtel decided they had better get the content deals directly rather than have a content supplier there that could possibly deal with future IPTV companies.
    Foxtel treat the customer and their suppliers like rubbish, trying to water it down as much as they can. I remember when Foxtel decided to start their Sci-fi channel. It sounded good, until I realized they charged extra for it and ripped the best stuff from TV1 for it (Star Trek etc).

    But no matter what you do…

  18. Foxtel is deliberately squeezing out independant operators on their network to reinforce their monopoly on STV content. They didn’t it first with the movie channels, now it is the drama channels turn.

    TV1 I don’t watch and is competing with FTA secondary channels but SF has first run rights to shows like Warehouse 13 and Continuum.

  20. Wow, TV1 is one of the originals, suprised to hear this news. When I first got Foxtel in 2003 it was one of the main channels I would watch, but then everything was played endlessly and after one or two runs of each comedy I liked, I drifted away from the channel then cancelled Foxtel in 2011.
    As someone has also noted, all its content is on FTA digital channels now, so no need for TV1.

  21. Why anyone has Foxtel to watch these channels is beyond me. Most of the same content is readily availabkle across the free to air networks channels such as Go!, Eleven, One-HD, 7TWO and 7Mate.

    An obvious cost cutting move by Foxtel, as they know full well on-line competition will be hitting them hard in the coming years. And owing to the overwhelming pay-tv dominance they have in this country now having gobbled up Austar and seen off Optus, it is no surprise that even more independent channel suppleirs are being squeezed out.

    No doubt the replacement channels will be bland, boring and lifeless with higher repeat rotations (read el-cheapo) like the movie channels dropped on January 1? And I bet there will be no drop in pricing either for the sucker subscribers either?

  22. This is very sad news. Once again Foxtel are too cheap to share their crazy profits with the little guys. TV1 are one of the oldest Australian pay-tv channels and its sad that they are forced out at their prime.

  23. thats terrible news david 🙁
    But thanks for the heads up :-/

    Thats means I loose one channel that I actually do watch through telstras IPTV foxtel program, hopefully they work to commissioning sfs replacement ASAP!

  24. SF is the only thing I ever wanted from Foxtel but the cost of paying for dozens of other unwatched/unwatchable channels is too much.

    A plea to SF: please, please, please set up a video streaming and download service that we can pay for directly and tell Foxtel to go hang.

  25. great…one of the only channels I watched….
    yet foxtel can afford an absolute shit load of channels no one watches, and those +2 channels masking as legitimate channels…

    seriously, with the rate foxtel repeats stuff already, and the ability to record stuff, why are their +2 channels?

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