End of an era as Foxtel nears cable switch-off
Only a small number of customers will remain on cable after June 30, before Foxtel finally shuts down cable network.
- Published by David Knox
- on
- Filed under Subscription, Top Stories
The end is nigh for the Foxtel cable network as the Subscription TV provider nears completion of migrating customers to its iQ4 or iQ5, using home broadband.
Cable delivery has been shut down progressively in neighbourhoods across Australia, although will not be completed by the target of 30 June 2023.
That will leave Foxtel technicians to work with a relatively small number of customers beyond that date to progressively migrate them across to set-top boxes which do not require cable or satellite.
When it finally switches off it will end a delivery service which dates back to the late 1990s. That includes technology for iQ (2005), iQ (2008), iQ3 (2015) and which variously introduced recording and HD capacity.
While iQ4/ iQ5 still allow for recording, Streaming is the new era whether via Foxtel On Demand, Binge, or Kayo.
A spokesperson told TV Tonight, “The Foxtel Group is continuing to reinvent itself from a traditional pay-TV business to a technology and IP-led streaming company – with the latest results showing 66% of our more than 4.6 million customers are now streaming.
“As part of that transformation, in recent years we have been delivering one of the largest projects ever undertaken at the company – to migrate our Foxtel subscription TV customers from cable across to mostly internet-delivered services ahead of the closure of the TV cable network.
“This has been incredibly successful – with a significant number of customers now migrated across to our latest technology iQ4 and iQ5 set-top box services as at the end of March 2023. This has been achieved while keeping broadcast subscriber churn at 12.3%, which is lower year-on-year and highlights just how popular the iQ5 product has been, along with the other investments which have been made in the Foxtel experience.”
The final switch-off will take place once the final neighbourhood has completed transition to iQ4 or iQ5.
31 Responses
These comments recalled for me the day living in the bush that we were first connected to satellite back in 1996 (?) when it was Galaxy just changing to Austar.
I miss my IQ2, when I got “upgraded” to IQ5, I could no longer record more than one FTA channel at a time. Even if two shows are on, one after then other, if they are on different channels, I can’t record one of them. But I still have Foxtel rather than Binge, the main reason being to be able to record FTA shows, as their catch up sites can be annoying forcing you to watch the ads.
the cable was much more stable than watching Foxtel via NBN.
… and I remember the start of the “era” when I was invited to tour the under-construction Foxtel facility at Pyrmont in early 1995 and asked if I would join them to help get it started … but the ABC made me a better offer to stay!!!
Foxtel have also confirmed that the Foxtel Now box is no longer sold by Foxtel and can only get it via Kogan, but also they have confirmed they are not supporting the box with any further updates to the box, but they are still offering Foxtel Now to their current and new customers.
Remember in the 90s when Foxtel and Optus Vision began rolling out two competing cable networks, often in the same area?
Those ugly Optus cables up and down every street…
Yeah…and refrigerated trucks clipping them and the twang that goes with them with they drag them halfway up the street….and the panic it causes motorists going over the speed humps to our local plaza thinking they’re electric wires laying on the road…..one neighbour put his wheelie bin in the middle of the speed hump thinking it was a warning….not….people just drove around it….still happens occasionally in my street today. 😂
Yes. It was Labor Senator Michael Lee that allowed Optus to do this. I will never forget his name, it made our street ugly
Satellite Foxtel is terrible, doesn’t work when it rains or on heavy cloud days. Just a huge disappointment
No complaints about satellite here. Yes, it does drop out in heavy rain, but that is rare here so a non-issue. Have had it for almost 10 years, still have an IQ2 box and it’s rock solid. Not everywhere in Australia had access to cable
is here a tree in the way of the satelite dish. I had to cut my mothers tree, with this same issue.
No, there are no trees
Foxtel have been following the same Pay TV changes used by Sky in the UK, I’m sure that if Foxtel thought that their set-top box subscription business was going to remain profitable going forward nothing much would be changing, but competition, technology and consumer preferences change and businesses and service industries will need to change with it. Having benefited from a Pay TV monopoly for many years News Corps Foxtel have had a good run, until Netflix and high speed broadband came to town.
I don’t have the internet so eventually was offered a satellite connection – they don’t tell you this is an option but in the end we got there. The way the IQ5 is set up it is very difficult for elderly people to navigate.
Foxtel invested heavily into satellite technology with the added bonus of keeping subscribers on contract deals, which was the life blood of their business.
Informed they will do that if you have no internet and they will install the dish etc, if someone has internet and wants Satellite then the customer needs to arrange dish etc at their cost
Our issue is we live rural so we do not have unlimited broadband or very stable connections. So losing Foxtel Satellite is going to be an issue for us.
It’s only the cable network shitting down. Satellite is staying until at least the early 2030s, which is when their contact with Optus currently expires.
What’s Foxtel?
I’m one of those people yet to switch over i use the iq2.I love using satellite wish i could keep using it.Streaming is the way it’s going but it’s not as reliable compared to satellite.Was unaware it was closing so soon.Yet to hear from Foxtel either.Probably wait until i hear something.Only just started looking at 4k televisions as well
As the article says it’s Cable closing down not Satellite (The end is nigh for the Foxtel cable network), just that those on Cable are getting moved to Internet abled Boxes (if they have IQ4 they already are) where they can be, so why you haven’t heard from them as yours is staying as is.
The link below David posted says more and part of that is:
“What box will I be upgraded to?
We’ll offer you an upgrade to an internet only iQ4 or iQ5 at no extra charge. This means that you don’t need a satellite installation and instead you can use your home broadband to view your Foxtel service. If you don’t have internet or your internet is unreliable, we’ll offer you an upgrade to a satellite-connected iQ4 if your address allows a satellite install.
The headline doesn’t match the article text, which says “migrate … to set-top boxes which do not require cable or satellite”. But you are correct, it is only cable that’s being shut down at the moment, for many reasons.
I didn’t read it that way, but guess if that part had have been connected to the previous paragraph it may have lead to others not being confused:
Cable delivery has been shut down progressively in neighbourhoods across Australia, although will not be completed by the target of 30 June 2023. That will leave Foxtel technicians to work with a relatively small number of customers beyond that date to progressively migrate them across to set-top boxes which do not require cable or satellite.
I don’t know though I read it as a whole anyway.
Thanks for filling me in on the info.Yes it certainly did confuse me
Wow, I completely forgot they switched us over to Satalitte a few years ago. That probably explains why I had no idea about this.
In the bush, there’s never been any Foxtel cable network, it’s all satellite, with broadband streaming, if the service you have is good enough.
Wait, so what is happening? This is the first I’m hearing about it. We have IQ4s. Are they all just going to become on-demand streaming devices? Or will channels be live-streamed?
iQ4 is broadband enabled but more info here. https://help.foxtel.com.au/s/article/a7V2P000000021jUAA/the-cable-network-in-australia-is-closing
That IQ 5 is a bugger, I use Wifi an external antenna but it’s not user or vision impaired friendly it just can’t do all the things Patrick Delaney said on the YouTube video in Sept. 2021, it’s not learning my preferences as stated by him. You can’t remote record FTA, you can only record 1 FTA while recording 2 Foxtel. Series Link gets knotted up with previous series. I can’t stand the remote with its up, down, side to side or when I talk to it and I get a message “sorry etc”. I get messages saying “clashed” with shows that aren’t even on at the same time. I’m always unplugging and letting it reset. Phone for tech help and all they do is a reset which happens when you call for tech help anyway before taking to an actual tech person, Foxtel are experts when it’s content gets shuffled or repeated on various channels. I prefer to record to watch at my convenience and ff the ads, no signing in or logging out with the apps on it either. It just needs more thought put into its design again.
Recording on the IQ5 is problematic. It needs an FTA aerial and while it has two FTA turners, it has been crippled so it will only record one and let you watch one. The series link data provided by the FTA networks often doesn’t work. It will record multiple Foxtel shows with ads but as you can only watch on show at a time why wouldn’t you just stream them without ads? Though the BBC sometime blocks shows from being streamed. BBC content is on Britbox and the ABC, and their series links often records multiple series of repeats rather than the next new episode you want to watch. HBO is making stuff like House Of The Dragon and the Idol which will be on their own streaming service within 2 years. So Foxtel is offering exclusive NRL, AFL and BBL matches plus repeats of CBS crime procedurals, and movies for $74 p.m. Netflix, Disney+, Prime, Britbox, Acorn and Apple are offering better dramas at $7-14 p.m. And there is a recession likely so pensioners are going to be cutting costs.