Foxtel halves price of Presto admitting ‘market has changed’ since launch
Foxtel has slashed the cost of its movie streaming service Presto by half amid rumours it has struggled to gain subscribers, admitting the market has “continued to evolve quickly” since it was originally conceived a year ago.
Launched with some fanfare in March the pay-TV company’s streaming service was priced at $19.99 per month, but today the company said it was responding to changes in market conditions and “customer feedback” to “simplify the structure”.
The move comes as Nine Entertainment Co is preparing to launch its own offering StreamCo in the coming months, which will be priced at around the $10 mark, while rumours persist US giant Netflix will launch in the market early next year, with hundreds of thousands of Australians already thought to be accessing the service.
Foxtel has denied there has been a disappointing takeup so far saying: “We’ve been pleased with Presto’s uptake to date and while we don’t break out subscriber numbers, what I can tell you is we’re seeing 40 per cent of subscribers accessing content during weekend use, which is a great number, and since launching on Chromecast, 20 per cent of our subscriber have been viewing Presto in it.”
As a sweetener existing subscribers are also being offered one month free.
The service offers movies from several big studios on demand, and is available “to all Australians with a suitable internet connection”.
Nine also recently took a strategic stake in local streaming service Quickflix, to secure its position ahead of launch.
Alex Hayes
“Watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat. Hey Presto!” And it never turns out properly.
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