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Media buyers on Foxtel’s Upfront. A new ad-tier… but at what cost?
Foxtel entered the ad-tier game for its premium subscription service Binge, as the fight for eyeballs reaches a new stage. Mindshare's Maria Grivas, PHD's Ryan Ambrose, Wavemaker's James Lever and Involved Media's Sarah Keith give their two cents on the biggest takeaways from last night's event at Allianz Stadium.
Foxtel looked to upstage its free-to-air rivals last night, putting on a flashy show at the newly minted Allianz Stadium.
With a 45,500 capacity, Foxtel needed to put on a big show to fill the arena for its exclusive 500-odd audience. And it delivered, according to Wavemaker’s Brisbane group investment director, James Lever, calling it “the epitome of quality”.
Speaking of numbers, Foxtel’s topline figure flexed the company’s reach, with one in every two Australian households having access to one of its touchpoints, Foxtel, Flash, Kayo, Binge, and Fox Sports.
Very fresh CEO of Mindshare, Maria Grivas says Foxtel’s promise to ‘change the game’ with its three tenets of watchability, connectivity, and usability framing how it will continue to disrupt, was certainly delivered on the night, emphasised by these figures.
Ryan Ambrose, group investment director at PHD notes the 4.5 million total audience is impressive, and that while it is Foxtel Media’s first time going to market as a total ecosystem solution, they’re clearly proud of their updated offering, “re-positioning themselves as a media tech lead platform and fully embracing a streaming-first mentality in line with evolving consumer consumption trends vs separate linear entertainment platforms”.
“What set 2023 apart,” adds Lever, “was their clear acknowledgment that the industry continues to change at a rapid rate, and that they as a business are ready to power our clients’ brands on that journey.”
Customer engagement director at Foxtel Media, Toby Dewar
Undoubtedly the biggest announcement of the evening was Foxtel entering the ad-tier fray for its premium subscription service Binge, with four minutes per hour coming in the new year.
The offering will also include frequency capping of one per hour, no ads for kids, pre-roll and mid-roll, though speculation does suggest it won’t be introduced at a cut-rate, unlike both Netflix and Disney+.
Ambrose says the announcement drew a lot of positive feedback from the audience and if the reaction is any indication, “it looks to be a new offering that will be fully embraced by the industry”.
Grivas says Foxtel “absolutely changed the game” with its ad-supported Binge model, “one that would retain the integrity of the streaming experience through considered advertising benefiting both audiences and advertisers”, while Lever adds the details have customer orientation at the centre of the strategy.
Foxtel Media’s Allison Hurbert-Burns, and Mark Frain
“As agencies and advertisers, we can be confident that this will launch with robust audience levels, while bolstering their premium content budgets in the year to come.”
Involved Media’s Sarah Keith says while a slick overall presentation, the only poor shot by the media company was stressing the benefit of its own ad model over competitors, only to then introduce its new ad-tier on Binge.
“While Foxtel are a world expert on managing an ad-supported premium subscription model and will undoubtedly deliver a quality experience on Binge, one questions the needs to strongly criticise others.”
The first series of HBO’s House of the Dragon has proven a hit for Foxtel
Foxtel’s content slate for the new year presents a solid mix, and the right balance of local and global content says Ambrose. The slate is very much playing on its content deal with HBO, headlined by Euphoria, Succession, and new video game-turned TV show, The Last of Us.
This sits alongside its premium suite of local productions, Selling Houses Australia, Gogglebox and new drama, Strife, which is demonstrating a continued investment in homegrown talent, says Keith.
“CEO Patrick Delany made a clear point about Foxtel knowing what Australians want and the longevity of some of its shows speak for themselves.”
Grivas adds that as a huge fan of Foxtel’s entertainment offering herself, “it was encouraging to see a return of successful Australian productions for Grand Designs, Selling Houses and Gogglebox”, alongside new and returning originals in Love Me and Upright, while also enjoying the live performance by Tim Minchin.
Minchin’s song was “an absolute treat of non-sport related content in an evening where Foxtel want us to remember watchability, connectivity and useability”, agrees Keith.
All of this, Ambrose adds, is underpinned by Foxtel’s sporting pillars.
Foxtel extended its deal with the AFL last month, something its broadcast partner Seven will no doubt play up next week too, and on the night the subscription carrier sought to show it is the place to be for sport-addicts.
“Sports audiences across streaming and linear are up, and Foxtel committed a 30% increase to local and international sports content, with 4700 hours of women’s sport as part of that,” says Grivas. “Foxtel’s continued pledge to prioritise their sports fans with no game play advertising was further proof to how watchability will continue to buoy their audience engagement.”
A new deal for the AFL is the jewel in the crown for Foxtel’s sports slate
Keith says that while Foxtel spruiked its large tech spend on $23 million, the detail on what it will deliver for advertisers was lacking. “But if it continues to drive consumer take-up, minimise churn and maintain the impressive stat that there is a Foxtel product in 50% of Aussie homes, job done.”
Though Lever adds that the increased budget towards FoxTest, which explores innovative ad products and solutions, shows its commitment to innovation, “and is something we welcome being part of”.
Finishing on the theme of disruption, Grivas says the biggest game changer was its commitment to its sustainability and reconciliation action plan.
“They offered for 2023 the opportunity for provisions for carbon offsetting for advertisers, and shared their goal for carbon emission reduction by 2030 – something that is a huge focus for Mindshare and GroupM and our clients. A focus on RAP, and the substance behind their commitment to it, was visible, refreshing, and so important, and a great indication of how Foxtel continue to change the game in this industry.”
Calum Jaspan was news editor at Mumbrella, based in Melbourne. He was also the producer and host of the Mumbrellacast. He left Mumbrella in May 2023.
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topics
AFLBingeFoxtelHBOInvolved MediaJames LeverMaria GrivasMindsharePHDRyan AmbroseSarah KeithsportWavemaker
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