The Foxtel and Fox Sports Merger – Good News for Sports Fans? As 2017 drew to a close, news outlets excitedly reported that a big change was coming to Foxtel – the merger of Foxtel itself with Fox Sports, which provides multiple channels of live sporting action from Australia and around the world. But, you ask, isn’t that like Foxtel merging with itself? Actually, no – and the implications of this merger are likely to have an impact for sports fans everywhere, as the pay TV platform gears up to compete with the arrival of sports streaming services. Why Merge? Since its launch in the 1990s, pay TV market leader Foxtel has been a 50-50 joint venture between Telstra and Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation – something that worked out brilliantly, …show more content…
especially in the early days. Foxtel took care of the programming, while Telstra handled the delivery of the Foxtel signal to homes via the cable network they set up for the purpose. But times change. The rise of Netflix, Stan, Amazon and other streaming services has put a pressure on the entertainment side of Foxtel, and with streaming now a mainstream concept rather than a niche market, many sporting codes (such as Formula One) are looking to get in on that action.
Thanks to Fox Sports, Foxtel has, for years ,offered unparalleled sporting coverage of a vast range of sports and codes, with exclusive rights to some of the biggest – AFL, NRL, Formula One, and V8 Supercars, amongst them. For the committed sports fan, there’s no better smorgasbord of live sports action that the set of channels Foxtel provides, and Foxtel intends to not only keep it that way, but to grow their sports coverage even …show more content…
further. To do that successfully, the merger came up as a logical thing to do. It’s not a traditional merger, either – News Corp’s stake in Foxtel will rise to 65%, with Telstra – having sold its cable network to the NBN and with Foxtel moving more and more to satellite delivery – looking like being involved more on a retail level (including selling Foxtel through its stores). Fox Sports is 100% owned by News Corp, and now the Murdoch-led company will have a controlling stake in Foxtel as well. Fox Sports, meanwhile, will go from being a company that licences sports coverage to Foxtel to one which co-owns the network itself. That makes expansion of sports coverage on Foxtel look extremely likely, as the pay TV company – headed by a new CEO – starts to focus on the side of its service that nobody else can deliver. Eventually, Foxtel will float on the stock market as well. We’ve already seen some preliminary happenings over the past few months – even though the merger hasn’t been signed, sealed, and delivered yet - including several non-sports channels disappearing from Foxtel, which of course has the handy side-benefit of providing more space for new channels to come in and join the existing ones. Foxtel has also been aggressively marketing their sports package ahead of the opening of the 2018 AFL and NRL seasons, at a price designed to attract new customers and keep them sticking around (and from all reports, it’s been working). You’re also likely to see extensive coverage of Foxtel’s sports in News Corp’s daily newspapers, and Fox Sports is still eagerly searching out the rights to new codes – the strong rumour being that “Big Bash League” cricket is very much on the radar – as free-to-air networks start to reel in the huge amounts of cash they’ve been handing over for sport coverage. “Anti-siphoning” laws mean that we’re a long way away yet from seeing sports like AFL exclusively on Foxtel, but with their multiple channels, high production values, and ability to run sport coverage without ad interruptions, there’s likely to be many codes that would love to find a home on a revitalised, sports-focussed Foxtel. This is all happening against a backdrop of increasing threats to Foxtel from streaming services, which you can bet a lot of sporting codes are very interested in.
Yes, there’s the possibility of Amazon signing up local sports for its Prime Video service (they already stream US NFL football and ATP tennis) but the real threat is likely to be the individual codes setting up their own, dedicated streaming platforms, something already popular with some sports in the US. That isn’t likely to play out the same way as Netflix did, though. You can expect the price to subscribe to any of those services to be fairly high, and if you’re into multiple sports it all starts adding up very quickly. Foxtel’s big advantage is the breadth of their coverage – not to mention the rights to key sports that they have sewn up for years to come. Getting access to a world of sports for a modest monthly price is likely to look even more appealing in the face of the alternative – paying many times as much for a suite of individual streaming services to keep up with your favourite sports. The future’s looking very interesting for Foxtel, and if you’re signed up for the sport – as a huge number of Foxtel customers are – then it’s safe to say the future’s looking very bright. Expect to hear a lot more about this – and eventually see more changes to Foxtel itself – as the year goes
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Currently CenturyLink is in the same transformation phase as its peers when it comes to the television market. CenturyLink offers a package with DirecTV bundled in, however that requires the customer to agree to the mandatory two-year contract stipulations set forth by DirecTV. (CenturyLink/DirecTV (n.d.) One of the biggest weaknesses of CenturyLink is the vulnerability of faltering when it comes to the constant changes in technology. This includes marketing advancements to match competitors and ensuring costs are comparable to intrigue consumers.
Growing from a small provider of a few thousand, the company has grown to be a massive conglomerate encompassing far greater than simply cable services. Now owning NBC Universal, Comcast exerts great power within the market, employing a variety of strategies to expand itself and remain profitable. When it attempted to merge with Time Warner cable, several strongly opposed when considering the massive power it already possessed. In addition, growing sentiment against cable providers has resulted in the reduction of subscribers. Despite this, Comcast is in a high period of expansion within the business cycle. However, it should remain cautious of the changing environment of how consumers obtain television
...011, August 22). Going deep on AT&T- T-Mobile merger: How will it really impact wireless competition? Connected Planet. Retrieved from Factiva.
Television, the phone, and the internet. These inventions have uniquely shaped the 20th century and have led to the 21st century being known as the age of information. These services are the primary ways we communicate, express ourselves, and reach out in our ever increasing global world. In the United States, these services are provided by a number of different firms, chief among them is Comcast, being the largest provider of Cable and internet in America, and a large telephone provider. Next to it stands Time Warner Cable, the second largest provider of cable in the United States. The decision for Comcast to buy Time Warner Cable for forty-five billion dollars in 2014 has led to many criticizing the merger, calling it a monopoly. Others have called the whole cable system an oligopoly. For it to be a monopoly or an oligopoly, it would have to fit their respective categories. The merger between Comcast and Time Warner Cable would not create a true monopoly, but would give it significant market power because it has monopoly resources and can be considered a natural monopoly. It will also further its power in a market dominated by oligopolies. People argue that it is not a danger to Americans for this merger to happen, but when one looks at the practices Comcast already uses, it paints
The following information is pertinent to the vitality and success of the FOX 24 cable-programming national network. It is necessary to discuss the importance of the ratings and shares system to enable FOX to increase viewership in the local TV market of 247,780 (.235% of US). This market is highly competitive among the affiliates of the other major networks: ABC, CBS and NBC.
Steve Case, chairman of the combined company, said that "AOL Time Warner will lead the convergence of the media, entertainment,
...PN, Fox, While NBC, ABC Down." SportsBusiness Daily. N.p., 19 Dec. 2013. Web. 8 Apr. 2014.
Ourand, John. “Fox Sports 1 Execs like Trends at FS1.” SportsBusiness Daily. American City Business Journals., 03 Mar. 2014. Web. 09. Apr. 2014.
Thomas, L. L., & Litman, B. R. (1991). Fox broadcasting company, why now? An economic study of the rise of the fourth broadcast `network.'. Journal Of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 35(2), 139.
Years later, the Telecommunication Act of 1996 triggered dramatic changes in the competitive landscape. SBC Communications Inc. established itself as a global communications provider by acquiring Pacific Telesis Group and becoming the new AT&T. The merger of AT& T and BellSouth, along with the ownership consolidation of Cingular Wireless and YELLOWPAGES.COM, will speed convergence, competition and continued innovation in the communications and entertainment industry, creating new solutions for consumers and businesses and positioned to lead the industry in one of its most signifi...
Satellite radio is a technology that provides a radically new way to listen to radio. XM’s service makes use of advanced satellite capabilities and elaborates terrestrial receiver architecture to deliver a wide array of high quality radio programming nationwide. In early 1998, Robert Acker, director of strategic planning at XM, needs to develop a marketing strategy for this new radio service. There are several decisions that need to be made by the company in order to finalize the business plan. At fist XM needs to decide which of two business models to pursue, whether emphasis should be placed on charging customers a monthly subscription fee, or whether to rely more on earning revenue through advertising. In addressing this problem, management must consider the value that XM radio could propose for different consumer segments as compared with existing modes of radio (AM, FM) and in relation to its sole competitor in satellite radio – SIRIUS. Besides choosing a business model there is also a need to explore how best to approach and leverage manufacturer and channel partners, considering high unknown and high-risk technology. The purpose of this report is to analyze possibilities and outline possible recommendation on strategies for XM Radio. The following areas will be examined:
As new technology developments are made, consumers are given more choices when it comes to video, internet and phone services than ever before. This can cause a decline for cable providers such as Comcast if the company doesn’t adapt to these changes and loses its competitive advantage.
On December 14, 2000, the Federal Trade Commission approved the planned merger of AOL and Time Warner after both companies pledged to “protect consumer choice” both now and in the future. The AOL Time Warner merger was approved by the Federal Communications Commission on January 11, 2001, and is the biggest merger in corporate history, then estimated at a total market value of $350 billion. The merger created a ‘powerhouse’ of new and traditional media. AOL Time Warner has led the union of the media, entertainment, communications and Internet industries. Throughout the years the face of media and entertainment industries has changed drastically as a result of increased technology. The popularity of newspapers gave way to other forms of media and entertainment such as magazines, television, cable, music, and most recently the Internet.
The Digital Video Recorder used in modern entertainment systems can now be replaced with an easy to use streaming video devices. As the online video libraries grow to include more content, eventually streaming set top boxes will provide this functionality, without the need to schedule recordings or manage space used by previous recordings. One additional advantage, often referred to as TV Anywhere, allows viewing of online content from a variety of devices, as long as an Internet connection is available. Now the real motivation that drives many Americans to consider these alternative options is money.
Roscoe, J 2010, ‘Multi-Platform Event Television: Reconceptualizing our Relationship with Television’, The Communication Review, vol. 7, issue. 4, pp. 363-369.