Foxtel Resigns Itself To More Losses [Archive]

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den20

15-03-2005, 10:24 AM

http://www.smh.com.au/news/Business/Foxtel-resigns-itself-to-more-of-the-red-ink/2005/03/14/1110649128008.html

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makes for interesting reading. so much for their much vaunted aggressive campaign to sign up new customers. seems the **** is really hitting the fans behind the scenes.

SA000584

15-03-2005, 12:50 PM

Who_tat_me

15-03-2005, 01:15 PM

"den20" <den20.1lwrel@no-mx.forums.eyo.com.au> wrote in message
news:den20.1lwrel@no-mx.forums.eyo.com.au...
>
> http://www.smh.com.au/news/Business/Foxtel-resigns-itself-to-more-of-the-red-ink/2005/03/14/1110649128008.html
>
> --------
>
> makes for interesting reading. so much for their much vaunted
> aggressive campaign to sign up new customers. seems the **** is really
> hitting the fans behind the scenes.
>
"Foxtel has backed away from a commitment to break even by the middle of
next year after disappointing customer growth and despite a program to keep
costs under control."

I wonder what Mr. XX's comment about this will be. Probably nothing.

Of course this explains the reason why Foxtel are charging the ridiculous
price of $395+$100 for iQ. MONEY. They're desperate for it, NOW and a
reasonable fee wouldn't get them enough.

den20

15-03-2005, 01:40 PM

well in a previous post, i posted details about foxtel's desire to tap more money out of their current subscriber base so i wouldnt be at all surprised if prices do rise again but it wouldnt be wise for them to push them up any higher as the backlash would probably be extreme. i mean foxtel are in a bit of a grind at the moment, their losses are increasing and the cracks behind the scenes are getting worse. even Telstra Corp. (TLS) has angered its fellow shareholders in pay-TV company Foxtel - Kerry Packer's Publishing & Broadcasting Ltd. (PBL.AU) and Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. (NWS) - after blocking industry changes they believe are critical to ensure pay-TV becomes profitable. its just a mess. i want them to address quality issues and to have more fleixbility in pricing and channel packages myself but given everything on their plate i wont be expecting it to be addressed any time soon.

its been proven time and time again that their aggressive drive to sign up more customers is not working so it would be nice to see them add additional channels that CURRENT subscribers have been wanting for years (like a sci-fi channel) and disregard that blurb on the tv1 site about them negotiating one (they've been saying that for years).

anyway, expect an announcement shortly as Optus is pushing to conclude a digial deal before the end of its financial year.

****

Headline: Foxtel Investors Clash Over Optus Deal

SYDNEY (Dow Jones)--Telstra Corp. (TLS) has angered its fellow shareholders in pay-TV company Foxtel - Kerry Packer's Publishing & Broadcasting Ltd. (PBL.AU) and Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. (NWS) - after blocking industry changes they believe are critical to ensure pay-TV becomes profitable, the Australian Financial Review reports Monday, without citing its sources.

The Packers and the Murdochs are unhappy that Telstra is resisting a plan to give Foxtel's pay-TV partner, Singapore Telecommunications Ltd.'s (T48.SG) Australian unit Optus, a much greater share of subscriber revenue as an incentive for it to spend an estimated A$50 million to convert its pay-TV service to digital.

The situation is becoming critical for Foxtel, which is now budgeting to deliver a loss in the next financial year after previously telling investors it would move into the black in 2005-06, the newspaper says.

The situation is expected to come to a head at a Foxtel board meeting this week as Optus is pushing to conclude a digital deal before the end of its financial year on March 31, the report says.

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May mean the next price hike is not far away ????

http://www.smh.com.au/news/Business/Foxtel-resigns-itself-to-more-of-the-red-ink/2005/03/14/1110649128008.html

--------

makes for interesting reading. so much for their much vaunted aggressive campaign to sign up new customers. seems the **** is really hitting the fans behind the scenes.

Who_tat_me

15-03-2005, 03:23 PM

"SA000584" <SA000584.1lwxvn@no-mx.forums.eyo.com.au> wrote in message
news:SA000584.1lwxvn@no-mx.forums.eyo.com.au...
>
> den20 Wrote:
>> http://www.smh.com.au/news/Business/Foxtel-resigns-itself-to-more-of-the-red-ink/2005/03/14/1110649128008.html
>>
>> --------
>>
>> makes for interesting reading. so much for their much vaunted
>> aggressive campaign to sign up new customers. seems the **** is really
>> hitting the fans behind the scenes.
>
>
> May mean the next price hike is not far away ????
>
It's already started. Before the half-price install offer started I noticed
that installation prices on the website had jumped for a few days. I'll be
interested to see what it is after the half-price install offer disappears.

nswamfm@yahoo.com

15-03-2005, 04:34 PM

Will they put the Price up ?

Say $200 for the Full Digital Service ?

Ive heard they cant run at a loss for ever

Hate to lose the service

Who_tat_me

15-03-2005, 06:46 PM

Jace the Ace

15-03-2005, 08:03 PM

<nswamfm@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1110863964.835140.10240@o13g2000cwo.googlegro ups.com...
> Will they put the Price up ?
>
> Say $200 for the Full Digital Service ?

As long as it doesn't affect the analogue and fusion powered Foxtel services
I'm happy about that.
>
> Ive heard they cant run at a loss for ever
>
> Hate to lose the service
>
I'd hate to lose the service too but if they don't learn how to run a
company properly then it's a distinct possibility.

And how do you run the company properly? I'm sure Foxtel would welcome your wisdom on this issue, as News PBL and Telstra can't seem to make a profit from the business. I can imagine the bonus you'd get for turning everything around.

Who_tat_me

15-03-2005, 09:04 PM

"Jace the Ace" <Jace.the.Ace.1lxhsq@no-mx.forums.eyo.com.au> wrote in
message news:Jace.the.Ace.1lxhsq@no-mx.forums.eyo.com.au...
>
> Who_tat_me Wrote:
>> <nswamfm@yahoo.com> wrote in message
>> news:1110863964.835140.10240@o13g2000cwo.googlegro ups.com...
>> > Will they put the Price up ?
>> >
>> > Say $200 for the Full Digital Service ?
>>
>> As long as it doesn't affect the analogue and fusion powered Foxtel
>> services
>> I'm happy about that.
>> >
>> > Ive heard they cant run at a loss for ever
>> >
>> > Hate to lose the service
>> >
>> I'd hate to lose the service too but if they don't learn how to run a
>> company properly then it's a distinct possibility.
>
> And how do you run the company properly? I'm sure Foxtel would welcome
> your wisdom on this issue, as News PBL and Telstra can't seem to make a
> profit from the business. I can imagine the bonus you'd get for
> turning everything around.

I've offered but they seem to think they can do a better job. I might have
to ring Kezza and have a quiet chat.

David Norman

17-03-2005, 07:04 AM

Well it's not that hard. Foxtel have heaps of Ads but very few of them are
paying ads. Channel nine makes money hand over fist but it doesn't need to
screw the viewers wallets like foxtel to make a buck (OK Eddie does just
ring 1900...). Foxtel is capable of changing the whole landscape of
Australian television. What we watch is decided by AC Nelson ratings which
is guided by a few thousand viewers. Foxtel says they have over a million
boxes in homes. They could show how flawed the existing rating system is and
charge the networks.
Flexible billing of channels might help too. I'm not interested in paying an
extra $15 a month for a package of channels I'm not interested in, but I
might pay $1 to subscribe to 1 extra channel for 1 day (not the price
boxoffice charges) hey I can still get latest release videos for $1 a night
why pay a premium for movies that are now in the weekly hire bin.

"Jace the Ace" <Jace.the.Ace.1lxhsq@no-mx.forums.eyo.com.au> wrote in
message news:Jace.the.Ace.1lxhsq@no-mx.forums.eyo.com.au...
>
> Who_tat_me Wrote:
>> <nswamfm@yahoo.com> wrote in message
>> news:1110863964.835140.10240@o13g2000cwo.googlegro ups.com...
>> > Will they put the Price up ?
>> >
>> > Say $200 for the Full Digital Service ?
>>
>> As long as it doesn't affect the analogue and fusion powered Foxtel
>> services
>> I'm happy about that.
>> >
>> > Ive heard they cant run at a loss for ever
>> >
>> > Hate to lose the service
>> >
>> I'd hate to lose the service too but if they don't learn how to run a
>> company properly then it's a distinct possibility.
>
> And how do you run the company properly? I'm sure Foxtel would welcome
> your wisdom on this issue, as News PBL and Telstra can't seem to make a
> profit from the business. I can imagine the bonus you'd get for
> turning everything around.
>
>
> --
> Jace the Ace

Jace the Ace

17-03-2005, 11:55 AM

"Well it's not that hard. Foxtel have heaps of Ads but very few of them are
paying ads."

Foxtel can only generate 25% of its revenue from ads.

"Channel nine makes money hand over fist but it doesn't need to
screw the viewers wallets like foxtel to make a buck (OK Eddie does just
ring 1900...)."

That's because it can generate 100% of its revenue from ads.

"Foxtel is capable of changing the whole landscape of
Australian television."

How? It can't buy the sport it wants, because of the Government ; Nine, Ten and Seven have locked up all the best programming in long term deals.

"What we watch is decided by AC Nelson ratings which
is guided by a few thousand viewers."

Actually, it is decided by the OzTam ratings. And who owns OzTam? Nine, Ten and Seven, actually.

"Foxtel says they have over a million boxes in homes. They could show how flawed the existing rating system is andcharge the networks."

How can they do that when there are still 5 million homes without pay television.

"Flexible billing of channels might help too. I'm not interested in paying an
extra $15 a month for a package of channels I'm not interested in, but I
might pay $1 to subscribe to 1 extra channel for 1 day (not the price
boxoffice charges) hey I can still get latest release videos for $1 a night
why pay a premium for movies that are now in the weekly hire bin."

Name another major pay television company in the world that allows you to do this.

Who_tat_me

17-03-2005, 03:08 PM

"Jace the Ace" <Jace.the.Ace.1m0kwh@no-mx.forums.eyo.com.au> wrote in
message news:Jace.the.Ace.1m0kwh@no-mx.forums.eyo.com.au...
>
> "Foxtel says they have over a million boxes in homes. They could show
> how flawed the existing rating system is andcharge the networks."
>
> How can they do that when there are still 5 million homes without pay
> television.

It's closer to 4 million.

The Family

18-03-2005, 04:26 AM

"Jace the Ace" <Jace.the.Ace.1m0kwh@no-mx.forums.eyo.com.au> wrote in
message news:Jace.the.Ace.1m0kwh@no-mx.forums.eyo.com.au...

> I might pay $1 to subscribe to 1 extra channel for 1 day (not the price
> boxoffice charges) hey I can still get latest release videos for $1 a
> night
> why pay a premium for movies that are now in the weekly hire bin."
>
> Name another major pay television company in the world that allows you
> to do this.
>

There are many, eg EtiSat in the UAE.