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Foxtel appoints new head of pay per view division

The Foxtel Group has appointed Conor Woods as head of per view, in what is a newly created role.

Foxtel said that the hire, and new position was created following continued growth for its Main Event audiences, a long-standing feature for the platform, boosted by its sport offering Kayo.

Woods has experience working for a number of sports broadcasters, previously at BeIN Sports, where he was managing director for Australia and New Zealand, as well as spending almost 15 years at Setanta Sports (now Eir Sport). He joins Foxtel from SportsBusiness, where he was senior vice president.

Conor Woods

Steve Crawley, executive director at Fox Sports, said that the growth audiences for combat sports, and the sports stars has led the growth in this category.

“The popularity of the new generation of Pay Per View stars, including Tim Tszyu and Justis Huni, is also driving audience growth for the Main Event business. Together, the reach of the Foxtel Group’s sports platform and the growing popularity of Boxing, UFC and WWE events is creating a wet sail for the Pay Per View business. We are incredibly pleased to have someone of Conor’s experience join us to lead this growth.”

Commenting on his appointment, Woods said he was pleased to be joining “one of the most famous brands in Australian subscriber TV”.

“With the reach of Foxtel’s residential subscriber base, plus the commercial venues network, and now the addition of Kayo, Main Event’s reach is unparalleled. This is an exciting opportunity to develop outstanding events for fans and lead the growth of this business.”

According to Foxtel Group, the Main Event feature has attracted new audiences in recent years, off the back of streaming platform, Kayo’s growth.

The company said the platform now has a one million subscriber base that can purchase singular events, but also offers the opportunity for fans to purchase Main Event products without a subscription.

This figured reported by Kayo sees growth on a reported 600,000 subscriber base as of September last year, a recovery from a significant drop experienced at the beginning of the pandemic.

Earlier this month, Foxtel appointed former news.com.au editor-in-chief Kate de Brito to lead work on a news streaming service, set to be called NewsFlash.

Foxtel Media also announced a new part of its Kayo offering in April, with Kayo Local broadcasting various local state sporting competitions across Australia.

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