Foxtel Now (formerly Foxtel Play) is an Australian

internet television Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as films and television show, television series, Streaming media, streamed over the Internet. Standing in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by Broadc ...

service which offers subscriptions to over 50 live channels and hundreds of video on-demand titles. The service is owned by

Foxtel NXE Australia Pty Ltd, trading as the Foxtel Group, is an Australian pay television company that operates cable television, direct-broadcast satellite, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April ...

, and officially launched on 11 August 2013 as Foxtel Play. The service is available on internet connected devices such as computers, game consoles and selected smart TV's and Blu-ray players. In addition, Foxtel Now subscribers have access to Foxtel's Foxtel Go app for smart phones and tablets.

History

On 14 March 2013 at the Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association (ASTRA) conference, Foxtel CEO Patrick Delany announced that in August 2013 the company would launch a new service named Foxtel Play. The service is an

alternative to Foxtel's existing

cable Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...

and

satellite A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...

pay television Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to Subscription business model, subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichan ...

service, allowing consumers to subscribe without a lock-in contract and access it via a range of internet compatible devices (as opposed to requiring a new iQ4

set-top box A set-top box (STB), also known as a cable converter box, cable box, receiver, or simply box, and historically television decoder or a converter, is an information appliance device that generally contains a Tuner (radio)#Television, TV tuner inpu ...

). The service launched on 30 July 2013, nearly two weeks ahead of its official launch of 11 August 2013. At launch, the service offered over 40 live channels and hundreds of

video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos, television shows and films Digital distribution, digitally on request. These multimedia are accessed without a traditional video playback device and a typica ...

titles, with subscriptions starting at $25 a month and 6 subscription packages on offer. Australian singer

Guy Sebastian Guy Theodore Sebastian (born 26 October 1981) is an Australian singer who rose to fame after winning the Australian Idol (season 1), first season of ''Australian Idol'', in 2003. Born in Malaysia and raised in Adelaide, Australia, Sebastian h ...

was the ambassador for Foxtel Play. In October 2016, Foxtel CEO Patrick Delany announced that Foxtel Play would receive a new package structure with lower pricing from December that year, to coincide with the company's closure of streaming service Presto. The service would be available from $10 per month for each of the Documentary, Lifestyle, or Kids packages, and for $15 per month for either of the Drama or Entertainment packages. Sports and Movie packages would be available to subscribe as an addition to at least one starter package. As well as access to linear channels, the service would also make associated on-demand and catch up content available to subscribers. Amidst rumours of an impending rename of the service, Foxtel announced in May 2017 that it would be removing 19 channels across its various Foxtel Play packages. A re-allocation of resources towards more on-demand content, based on a review of customer viewing habits was provided as the reason for the reduction in linear channels; however, pricing for the service's entry level packages was to remain unchanged. On 6 June 2017, Foxtel announced a company wide rebrand, which was to include the renaming of Foxtel Play to Foxtel Now from 7 June 2017. Other changes included the addition of high-definition (HD) availability and

Chromecast Chromecast is a discontinued line of digital media players developed by Google. The devices, designed as small dongles, can play Internet-streaming media, streamed audio-visual content on a high-definition television or home audio system. The u ...

support on the service. Foxtel Now was not the same product as Foxtel Play. Foxtel Play, irrespective of device, supported playback only in Standard Definition (SD). The re-branded Foxtel Now product supports playback in both SD and HD, however has not been rolled out on all Foxtel Play compatible devices yet. Foxtel announced their intention to roll out the Foxtel Now product to other devices throughout the second half of 2017, but only the PlayStation 4, Telstra TV and Sony TVs have had Foxtel Play apps upgraded to Foxtel Now. On 9 November 2017, Foxtel unveiled the Foxtel Now Box. A custom-made

Technicolor Technicolor is a family of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes. The first version, Process 1, was introduced in 1916, and improved versions followed over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black-and ...

Skipper running Android TV, the box is the flagship device for the Foxtel Now product. The launch included a small controversy, as Foxtel had previously promised the box would ship with the Netflix app available. The Netflix logo was included on some promotional material, which was deleted. During the launch event, Foxtel hinted that it was Netflix who was slowing the process, not yet having certified the box. However, as of November 2019, the Netflix app has been made available through the Foxtel Now box, and all newer models of the box are now sold with the app pre-installed. On 16 September 2019, Foxtel announced that their mobile application will close on 17 September, and most of its mobile subscribers will be integrated into Foxtel Go mobile app. the Set-top Box brand Foxtel Now Box, its app on Video Game consoles, and its website was not affected by their changes.

Streaming channels

The following is a list of the subscription packages on offer and the respective channels included: Pop & Lifestyle (starter packs) * Fox Funny * FOX8 *

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

* Fox Showcase *

Fox Comedy Fox Comedy was a television network, launched by the Fox Networks Group, which aired in Australia, Poland, Portugal, and Italy. Its basic programming included numerous comedy series and films. History It was launched in Italy on November 1, 201 ...

* Fox Arena * LifeStyle * LifeStyle Home * LifeStyle Food Drama * Fox Crime * Fox One * Fox Sleuth *

UKTV UKTV Media Limited, trading as UKTV, is a British multi-channel broadcaster, which, since 2019, has been wholly owned by BBC Studios (formerly BBC Worldwide), a commercial subsidiary of the BBC. It was formed on 1 November 1992 through a join ...

Universal TV Universal TV, formerly Universal Channel, is an international pay television network specializing in movies and television series in the thriller, drama, comedy, horror, crime and investigation genres, owned by NBCUniversal International Netwo ...

Sport *

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

ESPN2 ESPN2 is an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remaining 20%). ESPN2 was initially ...

* Fox Cricket 501 * Fox League 502 * Fox Sports 503 * Fox Footy 504 ''(not available on PC/Mac'') * Fox Sports 505 * Fox Sports 506 * Fox Sports More 507 Movies * Foxtel Movies Action * Foxtel Movies Comedy * Foxtel Movies Kids * Foxtel Movies Family * Foxtel Movies Greats * Foxtel Movies Hits * Foxtel Movies Premiere * Foxtel Movies Romance * Foxtel Movies Thriller * Lifetime Movie Network Additional channels included in every package *

Animal Planet Animal Planet (stylized in all lowercase since 2018) is an American multinational pay television channel focusing on the animal kingdom owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks unit of Warner Bros. Discovery. First established on June 1 ...

Bloomberg Television Bloomberg Television (on-air as Bloomberg) is an American-based pay television network focusing on business and capital market programming, owned by diversified information and media private company Bloomberg L.P. It is distributed globally, re ...

* CMT *

CNBC CNBC is an American List of business news channels, business news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group, a unit of Comcast's NBCUniversal. The network broadcasts live business news and analysis programming during the morning, Day ...

* CNN *

Discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discovery ...

* Discovery Turbo *

Fox News Channel The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American multinational conservative news and political commentary television channel and website based in New York City, U.S. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is ow ...

* Fox Sports News 500 *

Foxtel Arts Foxtel Arts was a subscription television arts channel available in Australia on the Foxtel platform. History Foxtel Arts replaced the SBS owned arts channel Studio, and became the third iteration of a dedicated arts channel on Foxtel in si ...

* ID * Club MTV * MTV 80s * MTV Hits *

NHK World-Japan NHK World-Japan (formerly and also known simply as NHK World) is the international arm of the Japanese public broadcaster NHK. Its services are aimed at the overseas market, similar to those offered by other national public-service broadcasters, ...

* Real Crime * Real History *

Sky News Australia Sky News Australia is an Australian news channel owned by News Corp Australia. Originally launched on 19 February 1996, it broadcasts rolling news coverage throughout the day, while its prime time lineup is dedicated to opinion-based programs fe ...

* Sky News Weather * Sky News Extra * Sky News UK *

TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...

* TVSN

Compatible devices

The following is a list of Foxtel Now (4K and HD) compatible devices. *

* Telstra TV *

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in ...

and

PlayStation 5 The PlayStation 5 (PS5) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was announced as the successor to the PlayStation 4 in April 2019, was launched on November 12, 2020, in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, North ...

Apple TV Apple TV is a digital media player and a microconsole developed and marketed by Apple. It is a small piece of networking hardware that sends received media data such as video and audio to a TV or external display. Its media services include ...

(via AirPlay) * Sony Android TVs * PC and Mac (browser streaming requires Google Chrome) The following is a list of Foxtel Now (SD) compatible devices. * LG Smart TV's (selected 2013 models) *

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). It is the successor to the PlayStation 2, and both are part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. The PS3 was first released on ...

(since 1 April 2014) *

Samsung Samsung Group (; stylised as SΛMSUNG) is a South Korean Multinational corporation, multinational manufacturing Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in the Samsung Town office complex in Seoul. The group consists of numerous a ...

Smart TV's (2012–2015 models, Any Smart Hub enabled 2012–2013 model Blu-Ray Players and Home Theatre Systems) *

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

(2014 model Smart TVs) Foxtel Now for

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the Xbox (console), original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detail ...

was discontinued on 1 July 2016. Foxtel Now mobile application for Android Mobiles and Tablets which is supported until Android 10 and Apple iPhones and iPads until iOS 13 was discontinued on 17 September 2019.

References

{{VOD services Subscription video on demand services Australian subscription television services Australian streaming companies Internet properties established in 2013 2013 establishments in Australia Now Android (operating system) software IOS software PlayStation 4 software

History

Streaming channels

Compatible devices

See also

References