You can’t compete with free when it comes to content. Aussies have already shown that they’re prepared to steal it before they’ll pay too much for it. In a bid to shift the tide, Foxtel is finally making its pay TV packages cheaper.
Foxtel has rejigged its package options, and dropped the minimum monthly price of the Foxtel basic package to $25 per month.
It starts with the Entertainment package, which features channels like Lifestyle, Fox8, MTV, BBC UKTV, Arena, Sky News and Sky News Business. From there, you bolt on additional packages.
The coveted Sports package — regarded as Foxtel’s crown jewel — will cost $25 per month extra, and include six Fox Sports channels, two ESPN channels, FOX Footy and Euro Sport.
Entertainment Plus is an extra $10 per month and includes channels like Comedy, SyFy, Style, TLC, E!, A&E, Food, Lifestyle Home and Lifestyle You.
The Movies channel is an extra $20 per month and bundles in nine genre-specific movie channels, while a Docos package featuring 10 Discovery and History channel properties will cost an extra $10 per month.
The Kids package is also $10 per month, while a new Drama tier featuring Showcase (for HBO shows), BBC First, 13th Street, FX, SoHo and the new Boxsets channel will run you $20 per month.
HD will cost you an extra $10 per month.
All up, if you want every single package and HD, Foxtel will bundle it all up for $134 per month.
The new Essentials package includes channels that previously required additional packages to receive. Disney Junior, Nick Jr., TVN, V Hits, MTV Music and MTV Dance have been added to the entry-level offering.
At the same time, however, Foxtel has moved some channels out of its Essentials (basic) package, including FX and SoHo (now included in the $20 Drama package), Cartoon Network, Disney Channel and Nickelodeon (now in the $10 kids package).
Here’s a full list of the pricing and the channels on offer.
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The new pricing comes into effect from 3 November. Foxtel is also working on putting the finishing touches to its new iQ3 box for release later on in the year.
The new channel pricing is meant to pave the way for what Foxtel is calling its “triple-play” strategy, which will see it offer TV, broadband and home phone packages to customers before the end of the year.
Foxtel BoxSets Channel
As part of the new pricing, Foxtel is introducing a channel called BoxSets.
It’s a channel dedicated to those who love to binge watch but don’t want to go out and buy the DVDs or stream them from a Google or Apple online store.
It offers Foxtel’s Complete Season offerings to customers in one big chunk so you can get your binge-watch on.
At launch, BoxSets will carry:
• Game of Thrones – Seasons 1-4
• The Sopranos – Seasons 1-6
• Big Love – Seasons 1-5
• The Newsroom – Seasons 1-2
• Rome – Seasons 1-2
• Band of Brothers
• Entourage – Seasons 1-8
• Wentworth – Seasons 1-2
Those will be supplemented by on-demand content including:
• Getting On
• Looking – Season 1
• Girls – Seasons 1-3
• Angels in America