Foxtel boss Richard Freudenstein said the company still intends to reach 50% of Australians, and will be helped along by the launch of IPTV and subscription on-demand movie services.
Freudenstein revealed at the ASTRA Conference today Foxtel will launch Foxtel Play in June. He said the move is the next evolution for Foxtel to deliver content via the internet without the need for cable.
Consumers will be able to subscribe to Foxtel Play on a month-by-month basis through internet-connected devices such as gaming consoles, TVs, smartphones and tablets. Packages will start at $25 for individual genre packs.
Freudenstein said: “Ideally when they've sampled Foxtel Play and see what a great product it is, they'll sign up to the full service. It's an opportunity to introduce Foxtel to a new customer segment.”
An on-demand subscription movie service will be rolled out later in the year. The pay TV company is also in the development on IQ3, an upgrade to its set-top box and is slated to have 10 times more processing power and eight times more memory than its current box.
Freudenstein spoke about his ambition for Foxtel to be a triple play, combining broadcast, broadband and telephony. He said Telstra (which owns 50% of Foxtel) boss David Thodey is open to supporting the pay TV operator.
“We believe it makes sense for us. It will place us firmly in the centre of the broadband connected home.”
Foxtel's pay TV penetration rates have lingered around the 30% mark.
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