Foxtel and Amazon strike deal to integrate Prime Video as an app
Members of Amazon Prime Video who own a Foxtel set-top box will soon be able to access Amazon’s entire library of streaming content through their Foxtel iQ3 or iQ4 devices.
By the end of 2021, the Prime Video app will be integrated into all Foxtel boxes, which will soon include the imminently launching Foxtel iQ5 set-top box.
Prime Video is the latest streaming service to integrate with Foxtel after Netflix was integrated with the platform in 2019. SBS On Demand, ABC iView and YouTube are among the other apps available through Foxtel.
Foxtel Group chief executive officer, Patrick Delany, said: “This agreement is a significant milestone in our transformation strategy, bringing another entertainment powerhouse to our Foxtel customers and giving them convenient access to even more world-class entertainment.”
“It accelerates our strategy for Foxtel to be an aggregator of the world’s best streaming content, adding to the apps we already have on Foxtel set-tops including Netflix, ABC iview, SBS On Demand and YouTube.”
The deal will bring over 16,000 additional hours of movies and TV shows to Foxtel, including Australian Amazon Original series such as Luxe Listings Sydney, Making Their Mark and The Test: A New Era for Australia’s Team and the upcoming Back to the Rafters.
Head of Amazon Prime Video Australia, Hushidar Kharas, added: “As a customer-obsessed company, we are always looking for new ways to be more accessible to our customers.
“By distributing with leading subscription television services like Foxtel, Prime Video’s content will be even more accessible to entertainment hungry Australians, and give them greater access to watch new releases such as the upcoming Amazon Exclusive series Nine Perfect Strangers and the Australian Amazon Original Series Back to the Rafters.
“This launch will also allow more of our customers to access the Prime Video Store and rent or buy their favourite new release and classic movies via the Foxtel set-tops.”
The move comes off the back of Foxtel’s cable subscriber base continuing to decline throughout 2020, losing 267,000 paying customers.
However, as PwC’s latest Australian Entertainment and Media Outlook recently pointed out, Foxtel managed to grow its total subscribers by 12% during last year, thanks to growth in paid customers on Kayo and Binge.
Last week Telstra TV and Disney+ announced a collaboration that allows Disney+ on the Telstra
device for the first time. A Disney+ subscription is required to add the platform to the Telstra offering.
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Zanda Wilson was a reporter and podcast producer at Mumbrella, specialising in radio reporting. He left Mumbrella in September 2021.
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