Foxtel rises from the dead

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As the global coronavirus pandemic rolled into town, Foxtel was facing a precarious future.

With sporting events across the globe put into hiatus, Foxtel – which has traditionally been heavily reliant on live sports to drive subscription growth – suffered a surge in cancellation requests.

The pain was hardest felt by Foxtel’s Kayo Sports streaming service, whose subscriber base plummeted from 402,000 in November 2019 to only 331,000 in May.

270 permanent jobs were also cut by management as Foxtel sought to dramatically lower its cost base amid falling subscription revenue.

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However, the reboot of sporting events across the globe, alongside Australian households spending more time at home amid lockdowns, has driven a remarkable turnaround in Foxtel’s fortunes.

According to newly released data from Roy Morgan Research, Foxtel registered a strong 43.9% lift in viewer numbers (+2,363,000 viewers) in the year to September 2020:

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In fact, all subscription television providers experienced strong viewer growth in the year to September 2020, with the overall market lifting by 16.2%.

With a reduced cost base amid the wave of redundancies, alongside strong viewer growth, Foxtel’s future is suddenly looking a lot brighter.

About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.