A significant number of Foxtel subscribers are abandoning the service’s drama and movie offerings in favour of new, cheaper streaming services led by US-based Netflix, according to a Fairfax Media report.
It says the “spin-down” – customers cherry-picking channels and cutting their bills – has been evident since Foxtel, jointly owned by News Corp and Telstra changed its pricing model in November, well before Netflix’s arrival in the Australian market
But certainly some of the subscribers reducing their Foxtel bills have now signed up instead to Netflix, which costs as little as $8.99 a month, or other streaming services.
Netflix is believed to have reached between 500,000 and one million Australian homes since launching on March 31, according to a number of sources.
Foxtel is due to report its fourth-quarter results next month. Its high-margin drama tier, which costs $20 a month, is thought to have been hit hardest.
Despite the spin-down, Foxtel is believed to have grown its subscriber base in the period to June 30, helped by CEO Richard Freudenstein’s decision to slash the price of the basic service from $49 to $25, Fairfax says.
