Foxtel celebrates seven straight quarters of revenue growth
Foxtel Group released its first-quarter earnings today, celebrating its seventh straight quarter of revenue growth.
For the September quarter, Foxtel’s adjusted revenue was up by 2%, year-on-year, with adjusted quarterly revenue for the subscription video services segment revenues up by a modest 1%.
Helen Kang, Clancy O’Hanlon, Rian Wisemantel, Rebecca Jacobsen, Nev Hasan, Jackson Forbes, Amy Johnson, Chris Daly, Amanda Laing, Mark Frain, Mitch McTaggart, Ali Hurbert-Burns, Annie Griffiths, Levi Guillory, Rachel Miller, Caitlin O’Meara, Dolly Herbert, Rebecca McCloy, Toby Dewar, Marty Medcraf and Patrick Delany
EBITDA, however, was down 13% on the previous year, which News Corp chief Robert Thomson puts down it “sports rights costs and forex fluctuations”, adding, “we have no doubt that our streaming strategy has been successful at a time when other companies in other markets are struggling.”
Total Foxtel Group subscribers sit at 4.646 million, with 4.573 million paid subscribers. Of these, streaming subscribers now make up 67% with 3.084 million Kayo Sports, BINGE and Foxtel Now users – 3.013 million paid, up 8% year-on-year.
Broken down further, Kayo reached 1.411 million subscribers (up 11%), BINGE boasts 1.506 million subs (up 4%), while Foxtel Now reaches 167,000 viewers, down 15%.
Residential and commercial (pubs and that) subscribers sat at 1.543 million, down 7% year-on-year.
“Overall, paid streaming subscriptions rose eight percent on the same quarter last year, while broadcast churn was down from 14.2 percent to 11.4 percent, showing that the two products are undoubtedly complementary,” Thomson said.
“But the team at Foxtel Group is far from complacent, and so we are on the cusp of launching our new streaming aggregation product, Hubbl, which will greatly simplify the search for fascinating entertainment and sports, from our own companies and from those of our cherished partners, to the benefit of all, in particular, to the benefit of viewers.”
Patrick Delany at the recent Foxtel Upfront
News Corp CFO Susan Panuccio added: “Streaming revenues accounted for 30 percent of circulation and subscription revenues, versus 25 percent in the prior year and again more than offset broadcast revenue declines benefiting from both a year-over-year increase in subscribers and price rises at Kayo and BINGE.
“Total closing paid subscribers across the Foxtel Group reached almost 4.6 million at quarter end, up two percent year-over-year.
“Total paid streaming subscribers were three million, increasing eight percent versus the prior year, although declining sequentially impacted by less output at BINGE related to the strikes in Hollywood as well as typical seasonality at Kayo due to the end of the Winter sports codes in September.
“Foxtel ended the quarter with over 1.3 million residential broadcast subscribers, down nine percent year-over-year. Broadcast churn continued to improve, down 280 basis points year-overyear to 11.4 percent, while Broadcast ARPU rose three percent to over A$85, helped in part by a price rise for non-platinum subscribers implemented in July.
“Segment EBITDA in the quarter of $93 million was down 16 percent versus the prior year driven by contractual price escalators in Foxtel’s sports rights agreements. Adjusted Segment EBITDA declined 13 percent
“We completed the debt refinancing in the first quarter, which included securing a new A$1.2 billion credit facility. As we said last quarter, given the improved performance and the completion of the refinancing, this provides a pathway for repayment of our shareholder loans.”
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