Speaking at the annual PayTV conference yesterday, Foxtel’s CEO Kim Williams opened up about the next stages for the company. If you like your entertainment with a thick layer of IPTV on top, you’re going to enjoy Foxtel’s offering in a few years.
According to Williams, the next set-top box is scheduled to launch in financial year 2012/13. And it’s shifting focus from broadcast with a touch of IP to IP with a touch of broadcast:
“The new STU is all about providing the flexible platform which meets consumer expectations as we mutually ride the digital wave. Foxtel’s next generation HD Broadband /Broadcast Set Top Unit will offer web based interfaces, fully integrated contemporary search and recommendation functions, better storage capacity and content management. It will be hotwired to the internet provisioning access to a magnificent Cloud of tools and content goodies.”
It’s a positive step forward that Williams actually recognises that consumers want flexibility in their TV watching experience. How Foxtel delivers that is still to be seen, but Williams at least acknowledged it:
“Consumers want to find things as easily as possible and then to either watch a superbly programmed service or pull single pieces of content down simply. And they want to be enabled to watch what they selected on a smart device of their own choice.”
It’s a slow process, but it seems like the wheels are turning in favour of the consumer when it comes to accessing TV in the future.