Foxtel presented GAME CHANGED, wooing the media buyer business world with a slate of strong content, consumer-first watchability and a friendly home for advertising.
The 2023 Upfront also gave opportunity in an ad-supported tier for Binge which, unlike Netfix's move into advertising, already has a big, and known, audience.
Frank Carlino, group investment director - NSW at Carat, said: “The best ad content plus best ad experience creates impact. As marketers continue to demand consumers attention, “watchability” becomes the new metric for success."
Sarah Keith, Involved media group managing director: “Allianz Stadium and Kayo Sports jostled for top billing at Foxtel’s impressively staged Upfronts last night.
“Flames and fireworks punctuated a confident consumer-first presentation that was strong on sport content, audience numbers and quality drama.
“Foxtel set out its standing as a technology-led company with financial strength, with the latter enabling key pillars such as the quality HBO content Euphoria and Succession alongside premium local content Selling Houses Australia and Gogglebox, and the new drama Strife (in pre-production) with Asher Keddie, demonstrating the continued investment in homegrown talent.
"CEO Patrick Delany made a clear point about Foxtel knowing what Australians want and the longevity of some of its shows speak for themselves.
“While a large technology spend ($23 million) was mentioned, details of what it will deliver for advertisers were less clear. But if it continues to drive consumer take-up, minimise churn and maintain the impressive stat that there is a Foxtel product in 50% of Aussie homes, job done.
“To continue the strong sports metaphor of the night, the only poor shot played was the insistence on stressing the benefit of Foxtel’s ad model over others’ “business models” just before introducing the new opportunity to advertise on Binge. While Foxtel are a world expert on managing an ad supported premium subscription model and will undoubtedly deliver a quality experience on Binge, one questions the needs to strongly criticise others.
“Tim Minchin’s song from Upright was an absolute treat of non-sport related content in an evening where Foxtel want us to remember watchability, connectivity and useability.”
James Lucas, OMD's head of trading - Brisbane: With Foxtel Media positioning itself as a technology business, as opposed to a more traditional media company, the content of their 2023 Upfronts was crafted accordingly.
"The annual 90-minute big sell into agencies and marketers focused less on new products and updates. Instead, it was used to outline the already established framework that will give their business momentum and provide opportunities for growth for their advertising partners.
"Thus far, the successful formula has centred around building a consumer-first product, a better viewer experience and a better ad experience.
"There is consistency in this with the framework presented, which can clearly be attributed to three elements – watchability, connectivity and useability. In keeping these elements front and centre, the company has been able to navigate an increasingly digitised TV landscape successfully, but also form tentacles in half of Australian households with a layered business model that can evolve with the times.
"Compared to 2018, when Foxtel was overwhelmingly a linear broadcast company, the game has changed a lot. Much of the presentation focused on the watchability element, highlighting the benefits to advertisers and viewers as a result of Foxtel’s commercial model – less minutes, controlled frequency, and high-quality content built with the consumer experience at the centre.
"In a cluttered and fragmented media landscape, the results presented weren’t such a surprise. We know from a wide breadth of industry research pieces and case studies that brand and message recall is higher in premium environments where content and ads are interwoven seamlessly.
"Indeed, Foxtel is fortunate to already have a working business model that is favourable to advertisers and Australian viewers who are spoilt for choice; however, a lower ad load and layered commercial model will well establish Foxtel for the long term.
"Foxtel already has proof points in this formula; particularly, the watchability element is driving their business momentum and delivering results for their advertising partners. Excitingly, investment into Foxtel will increase by nearly 70% in 2023 at $5m in conjunction with independent partners such as Amplified Intelligence.
"There were exciting updates, including the introduction of an ad-supported tier for Binge in early 2023, as well as the NewsConnect partnership which will roll out starting with Kayo very soon.
"However, I was left eager to hear even more about the connectivity element and Foxtel’s ambitions around convergence. The roadmap spoken to around data and forming a unified experience for both advertisers and viewers sounds promising (one managed service and bill for SVOD sounds particularly enticing).
"The presentation ended nicely in capturing the useability element with an appreciative note to the wider national Foxtel team backed by some strong campaign performance statistics, in addition to clear carbon emission goals as part of Foxtel’s sustainability charter.
"Foxtel Group is investing more than ever in understanding its audience and how to maintain a mutual win/win arrangement for viewers and advertisers. I’m expecting more success stories, big updates and learnings within this area come this time next year. "
"In a parallel to Netflix's new offering, Binge will not have the same subscriber base, but with a larger variety of well-known shows, it will be really interesting to see the demographics breakdown across both platforms. It will be interesting to see whether Binge can find the momentum it will need with Nine's new commerce BVOD solution, Netflix's offering and BVOD launching at the same time,
Simon Reid, national head of partnerships, Initiative: "Foxtel touted this years upfront as “Game Changed” which is a big call. Commercialising BINGE was inevitable following the NETFLIX announcement a few weeks back so I’d say its not so much Game Change, but more like “Game On!”.
"Mark Frain posed the question to advertiser and asked 'are we in?' Audience targeting and measurability will be the key in unlocking incremental gains immediately.
"Details were not announced around this, but if they can deliver both targeting and measurability off the bat, advertiser will most certainly be in.
"Consumer experience needs obviously need to be balanced in order to maintain scale. The content slate is strong with plenty of local productions underway and maintaining the AFL broadcast rights was crucial to ensure the continued success of Kayo.
"Overall it was a strong offering from Foxtel with plenty of promise from an audience targeting, testing and buying POV. Game on indeed."
Wayne Jarvis, Mindshare Sydney investment lead: "Foxtel’s upfronts felt positive and assured. It had the feel of a business that’s reading the tea leaves and aren’t resisting the change but rather finding a way to evolve with it, shifting from a traditional pay TV company to a technology-led streaming model ‘Continuing to play the old game for now’.
"As expected, their sporting spine is strong and coming off the back of great audience growth in NRL, AFL and F1 this year. And their increased commitment to women’s sport is welcomed and compelling, and opens new valuable commercial opportunities for our clients.
"From an entertainment perspective, Foxtel has struck a great balance of high-quality local content, mixed with international must-watch and a global juggernaut that I imagine will support their current strong subscriber and commercial trajectory.
"The big news of the evening was the new ad funded Binge model, allowing advertisers to now capitalise on that high valued younger audience that Binge has successfully attracted. Their lower ad loads and the expectation of ads on other Foxtel brands/products mean it shouldn’t be a jarring transition for their customers.
"Increasingly, brands are looking to partner with businesses that meet their own environmental and societal ambitions, so it’s encouraging to see Foxtel’s commitment to sustainability and to marginalised voices, which strongly aligns with Mindshare’s ambition for Good Growth in the market and for our clients."
Liz Wigmore managing director at Foundation said: "Foxtel put on an impressive and stand out show, hosting from the newly rebuilt Allianz stadium.
"Using one of the biggest ‘rooms’ in the world to showcase their technology commitments and content slate, the actual stadium was the backdrop.
“'No longer a traditional Pay TV operator, but now a technology company' there is a clear future for Foxtel and that is digital & streaming.
"Some phenomenal stats showing the growth of customers now streaming their content, with 62.5% of their base now choosing a digital pathway. It was great to see this was a welcomed statistic, versus one at odds with their linear model, and on track to grow even higher.
"It was great to hear from Kat Frost that they have secured $23m investment for ad-tech capability. We all know that poor ad-insertion technology has led in some platforms, to poor ad-practices with high frequency. Not good for the consumer, the brand, or the media agency.
"It was great to hear the Binge ad-model announced and on track for a Q1 launch. This is an excellent product with a very desirable audience. A launch that will have instant scale will see this be a very compelling addition to our screen strategies for our younger audience campaigns. Having a clear and communicated ad-model outlined (4 mins p/h & frequency capped per hour) was excellent to walk away with. The ad-technology being in pace is a key component to protecting this customer base’s experience as they turn this on.
"The commitment to campaign delivery and ease of transaction was also a welcomed statistic and acknowledgement. Having campaigns deliver and reducing the need for our collective people to chase makegoods cannot be understated in terms of value. The statistic of a 94% campaign delivery year to date, is a rare one in the TV market today. The commitment for even more infrastructure back of house for CRM, forecasting tools, de-duping audiences & more accurate forecasting – shows Foxtel is listening & responding to what agencies and advertisers are looking for.
"Great to see Foxtel embracing a digital and streaming future, for their customers and for advertisers."
Thomas Macerola, head of investment at Zenith Sydney, said: "Foxtel Media…Wow.
"Held at Allianz Stadium, Foxtel Media delivered one of the most entertaining and engaging upfronts so far this season. With the theme of GAME CHANGED, what better venue to host then the newly renovated state of the art stadium that is symbolic of what Foxtel continue to do with their business – evolve and deliver the best “game day” experience for their customers.
"It was very clear that Foxtel is continuing to push the boundaries and lead the way through three key areas that will help them grow in an ever-evolving landscape.
"Watchability - Foxtel continue to invest heavily in world class content – internationally and locally, including sport - giving new subscribers a reason to join and current subscribers a reason to stay, with 2023 looking no different. With something for everyone, it wasn’t surprising to learn that there is a Foxtel Group product in every 2nd Australian household.
"Quality content combined with Foxtel’s ability to create a seamless user experience, means that the business can offer an engaged audience which brands can continue to tap into regardless of the platform from which they choose to engage.
"Women’s sport was called out as a largely untapped environment- relative to men’s sport - for advertisers to get involved with.
"Connectivity - With the arrival of Netflix’s ad funded model, streaming services have been a big focus in the 2023 upfront season thus far, and Foxtel was no different.
"Foxtel have had a clear strategy to connect Australians to their content, with the introduction of Kayo back in 2020 and are looking to continue and evolve their offering, not only subscribers but advertisers.
"In what was one of the most exciting announcements at the event for advertisers, Binge will launch with an ad supported model in 2023. Foxtel have spent the past few years building the scale across the platform and now advertisers can connect to these audience in a way that offers a watchable experience. With 1 ad per hour per user, it will allow us the ability to not only build reach but cut through and engage in a time where audiences are bombarded with multiple messages a day.
"Useability - It is clear that whilst the platform and content is crucial to driving audience and a “watchable” experience across the Foxtel Group, the business is also focusing on how they engage and interact with their partners. Foxtest was a great initiative launched in 2002 and it returns in 2023 with an increased commitment of $5M.
"They are leading the way in working with brands to innovate, test, and prove the effectiveness of the platform, giving agencies and advertisers confidence that they will always evolve and not stand still."
"The announcement from Binge for its advertising model received a great deal of applause, everyone in the room was excited by the four minutes per hour scarcity model.
"It was great to see such a big focus on reconciliation and suitability of content, which is something very close to the IMAA's heart."
"Foxtel impressed us all with a number of YoY growth updates and 'game changing' facts and figures, which I think served to reiterate that their shift from a linear subscription TV business to a streaming, digital first business has been (and continues to be) successful.
"Overall, there was a clear focus on the consumer (referred to as 'watchability'), which I felt was a nice take on things and a notable difference to the FTA network approaches so far this year, who seemed to focus more on the content pipeline. This combined with announcements regarding increased investment in adtech and the biggest announcement of the evening of course being the launch of advertising on Binge (yes!), rounded out a positive, confident and well received update from the Foxtel group."
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