Predictions for Foxtel in 2021
A few short thoughts on what I think Foxtel has in store for 2021
I reckon the iQ5 set top box could be in the works and be released by the end of the year. Will most likely be more Internet and app based similar to the Foxtel Now box but a lot more high powered. Might explain why they removed Kayo and Binge from the Foxtel Now box. They might be encouraging customers of that over to the iQ5.
Foxtel have locked in the AFL, cricket & NRL for some time yet. So my guess is that will help keep them alive as the only place to watch all matches of those sports.
Foxtel have locked in HBO shows for at least the next year at great expense as they beat Stan to content rights. Of course long term Foxtel will probably lose the rights to HBO shows as HBO Max looks to go worldwide and eventually rolls out in Australia. In their investor presentation in 2019 AT&T/Warner Media didn’t indicate they had plans to roll out to Australia in the next few years. But that may be accelerated as they might be desperate for subscribers anywhere they can get them due to only reaching 12 million US subscribers at the end of 2020.
Foxtel will focus even more Sky News Australia as they wring their last bit of influence from a dying platform. Sky News UK may disappear as News Corp no longer owns them. Comcast in the US does.
Fetch looks like it will keep going from strength to strength. Will they introduce any hardware upgrades to their latest Mini & Mighty set top boxes? They are starting to get a little old at this point though comparative to Foxtel they are great hardware. With the deal with Comcast’s Metrological it’s looking like Fetch will soon have heaps more apps than they currently do on their set top boxes. They’ve got plenty of software and firmware upgrades in store in 2020 I have heard. Exciting times for Fetch in my opinion. A big question is will Foxtel decide it’s worth it to finally release Binge and Kayo as apps on Fetch.
As for the way Foxtel treats their customers and community. It’s shocking that they shutdown the Foxtel Community Forums. They had a wealth of information. May I recommend the Whirlpool Forums Foxtel — Bargaining (check how people are negotiating better deals with Foxtel), Future of Foxtel & Foxtel iQ4/4K threads. They provide a wealth of interesting and informal information with the lack of a community forum website run by Foxtel. I used to really find the iQ3/iQ4 firmware release notes very useful on the Foxtel Community Forums as well as instructions on how to reset your set top box. Error codes information was also available there.
Will there be pricing and package changes this year to try and compete with Fetch and the streaming services and other forms of entertainment that Foxtel is competing with?
Will Foxtel actually try and institute an initiative where they encourage people to upgrade to the latest hardware to get the best experience? I happen to think the iQ4, 4K channels, sports channels and on demand are pretty decent experiences. Mainly because I watch sports & on demand with minimal ads. I doubt Foxtel will encourage their customers onto the latest hardware without charging as much as their customers will handle.
So what are your thoughts on Foxtel in 2021? And even beyond that? Will Foxtel survive? Will Rupert Murdoch die sometime soon? Is everyone aware Foxtel is now pretty much not even an Australian company?
This article was adapted from a post on the Foxtel Complaints Facebook group.
Anthony Eales is a media, news & tech junkie from Australia. You can reach him on Twitter @ants000.
