There has been a real undercurrent of discontent from people who live outside the Foxtel broadcast area wanting to get access to the Foxtel on Xbox service. So we asked Foxtel why this was the case. Here’s their answer:
“FOXTEL ON XBOX is an extension of the FOXTEL service, and as a result is only available in areas that FOXTEL services (metropolitan Australia and WA). Our agreements with some channels and program providers only permit us to broadcast FOXTEL in FOXTEL areas.”
The second part is key – essentially, it’s a bunch of conditions certain channels and content providers have stipulated that means Foxtel can’t actually offer the service outside their broadcast area.
Will that change in the future? Potentially, as new partnership arrangements are worked out that take IPTV into account. But don’t hold your breath for it to happen any time too soon…
Dave
Wednesday, November 3, 2010 at 4:47 PMThat is soooooo freakin crap. I was really looking forward to getting foxtel on my xbox 360 but I live in country Vic so i can’t. Crap crap crap.
Tristan
Wednesday, November 3, 2010 at 5:08 PMDave, be thankful that you’re outside the Foxtel coverage area. It means you can get Austar, and pay less for the same channels that Foxtel offers without having to bundle with Telstra or any of their other conditions that they force on you.
Simon Reidy
Wednesday, November 3, 2010 at 7:02 PMThat’s true to a degree, but you’re excluding the fact that Austar services and boxes are technically inferior to Foxtel’s.
Austar also compresses their signal more to reduce satellite bandwidth, resulting in horrible artifacting, and you can’t even access the same high definition channels available on Foxtel.
Peter Campbell
Wednesday, November 3, 2010 at 5:02 PMAnd they wonder why bit torrent is so popular?
Its the lawyers and the company’s themselves that are killing the film industry
Normandy
Wednesday, November 3, 2010 at 6:52 PMindeed, channel BT will remain the top way to download until such time as idiots at the networks change their tune! People will pay for content, just make it accessible and DRM FREE! THEY JUST DONT GET IT!
Nathan
Wednesday, November 3, 2010 at 5:34 PMErr, WTF!? “metropolitan Australia and WA”, what do they mean metropolitan Australia…and WA!?
29Dimensions
Wednesday, November 3, 2010 at 6:31 PMYou seem surprised…
Cameron
Wednesday, November 3, 2010 at 7:18 PMThey’re just pre-empting WA’s break away from Australia as a separate nation.
Russell Carroll
Wednesday, November 3, 2010 at 7:19 PMI would assume that FOXTEL has the rights in Metro areas in all other states and the whole of WA.
Glen Bruton
Wednesday, November 3, 2010 at 9:33 PMWA is just one giant city isn’t it?
TheKZA
Wednesday, November 3, 2010 at 9:49 PMOne would assume they mean metropolitan Australia and ALL of WA. That must be their broadcast area.
Alex Contreras
Thursday, November 4, 2010 at 12:27 AMI was thinking just the same thing… Maybe WA is considered another nation akin to Australia…
Greg
Wednesday, November 3, 2010 at 5:56 PMExactly what it says – all of WA is a Foxtel serviced area.
dubtronica
Wednesday, November 3, 2010 at 6:21 PMAustars satellite coverage is patchy at best during the Darwin wet season. I was hoping foxtel on xbox live would be the answer.
I remember clearly speaking to an Xbox rep at a conference this year about this issue. I asked him if this service would be available in Darwin( where Austar operates) He empahatically replied that it would. He said it did not matter if you were outside the broadcast zone as the service was going to run through xbox live. Either he did not know what he was talking about or they changed the conditions of use.
ozjad
Wednesday, November 3, 2010 at 9:14 PMWould it be possible to put a “phantom metro address” on the registration page to be able to get an active foxtel 360 subscription? i dont think its possible to block an IP address based on metro and non metro is it?
pejamas
Wednesday, November 3, 2010 at 10:06 PMAs i said in the previous article – upon registering for the product when it asks for your address, you simply use any postcode in a “Foxtel” area and it allows you to proceed, sign up and pay/use the service with no problems at all.
Spagman
Wednesday, November 3, 2010 at 10:36 PMI thought the whole point of foxtel over xbox live was to hit new customers in new areas? Not to saturate their existing audience even further? FAIL
Pat
Thursday, November 4, 2010 at 1:33 AMhate to be a grammar nazi but…
“There’s been a real undercurrent of discontent from people who live outside the Foxtel broadcast area wanting to get access to the Foxtel on Xbox service. So we asked Foxtel why this was the case. Here’s there answer:”
“Here’s THEIR answer”
Roland
Thursday, November 4, 2010 at 8:13 AMYou are up way too late to be getting your knickers in a knot about grammar :-P
Melektaus
Thursday, November 4, 2010 at 5:25 AMSo what he is saying is that the PayTv companies and content suppliers have colluded to make sure that they do not compete fairly in the marketplace, right?
Carey Cryzla
Sunday, January 16, 2011 at 5:34 PMOMG
Foxtel & optus are both stupid!!! Or their lawyers, I can’t get a service from them yet
My Neighbor (block of units) has optus I had him bring his box down and it worked !!
So I called them and ask for a set top box and an account (optus we don’t do pay tv lol)
Foxtel sorry we don’t service those units
Just send me the box I reply via courier and I will do my own install.
Still waiting for a call back on that LOL
That was December last year.
Ofer all these idiots even select pull the plug.
Heath
Monday, July 11, 2011 at 8:34 PMThis is a joke.
I was a promoter for Microsoft Kinect and I also used the Foxtel on Xbox as a selling point also. Not once was it mentioned that it wasn’t going to available for country Victoria in the promo material that I was given.
I feel guilty for those few people that bought the Xbox unit with that in mind.
Maybe a class action for misrepresentation of a product is in order for Microsoft.
dan
Friday, November 25, 2011 at 9:11 PMjust put a different address in ;-)