Patrick Delany previews News Corp and Telstra’s Foxtel Group growth plans
No IPO decision yet, but subscription television business making a compelling case
The Foxtel Group, with the support of shareholders News Corp and Telstra, is holding a Strategy Day to update the investment community on its growth and transformation and to outline a series of aspirations.
The update will confirm that the future growth of the Foxtel Group will be driven by streaming via Kayo Sports and BINGE, with the opportunity for further growth through its recently announced live news aggregation streaming service, Flash.
The Foxtel Group will also reveal a transition to a streaming-led future for Foxtel Retail following the recent launch of the iQ5 plug and play IP set-top box.
The transition, designed to strengthen Foxtel’s subscriber base and revenue, includes a future as a streaming aggregator of Foxtel’s content along with integrating a broad range of local and global streaming apps.
Highlights from Foxtel Group’s Strategy Day at mediaweek.com.au in the afternoon of September 30
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The implementation of the Foxtel Group strategy has enabled the company to articulate new three-year ambitions, including reaching:
• 5 million-plus subscribers, having reached four million total subscribers in FY-21, one million higher in the past 12 months.
• Approximately $3 billion in revenue with continued opportunities for margin expansion, supported by streaming revenue growth, continuing to slow the decline in residential broadcast revenue and ongoing cost transformation through digital growth and operational efficiencies.
• A capex to revenue ratio of 4%, having fallen from 14% in FY-19 to 7% in FY-21, to help underpin the Group’s continued strong cash performance of $274 million in FY-21 (EBITDA less capex).
Foxtel Group chief executive officer Patrick Delany said: “Our strategy briefing highlights today’s Foxtel Group is a very different company to the one-product Foxtel of three or four years ago.
“The business has been repositioned as a technology-led streaming company with multiple sources of revenue growth from streaming, a strengthened Foxtel Retail offering and growth in digital advertising.”
Listen to Mediaweek’s recent Patrick Delany podcast here.
