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Pay TV marketing should focus on channels not programs: Foxtel

Patrick Delany, FoxtelPay TV needs to switch its branding strategy from a focus on programs to channels in its tussle with free to air TV. So said Patrick Delaney, Foxtel’s executive director, sales and product development at the ASTRA pay-TV conference this week.

“In subscription TV, we’ve got 15,000 shows going out every week. If you try and run ads for single shows like ‘Man Versus Wild’, we lose,” he said.

Free to air networks, he said, had found it easier and more effective to promote a small number of shows in national newspapers and other media.

Delaney said he found it “breathtaking” that Foxtel did not have a better established sports brand.

“We have such an extraordinary sports offer, and two-thirds of the country don’t believe it. It’s crap – shame on us. We’ve got to get the message out there better.”

“Business is about perception. It’s not about ratings,” he said.

Delaney used ‘Man Vs. Wild’ as an example of a show that Australians should be made aware originated from pay TV – the Discovery Channel.

“It’s an absolute killer for our industry. Whether it’s live channels or video on demand or anything else, we really must focus on brand.”

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