Foxtel in Australia will launch a dedicated live news online video service with more than 20 local and global live news sources. Foxtel is promising that it will offer more than an aggregation of news channels. Branded as Flash, it will feature a diverse range of sources, available both live and on demand.
Flash will be headed by Kate de Brito, previously editor of news.com.au, one of the most popular digital news sites in Australia.
The Flash service will sit alongside the Kayo sports offering launched in November 2018. Kayo had gained over a million paying subscribers by May 2021. Flash will also join the Binge entertainment service, which launched in May 2020 and had over 700,000 paying subscribers by mid-2021.
“We are excited to lock in our plans to launch Flash next month, the third streaming service we will have launched in as many years,” said Foxtel Group chief executive, Patrick Delany.
“These new streaming products are driving rapid growth in subscribers and revenue as we diversify our portfolio of entertainment brands and reinvent the Foxtel Group as Australia’s most dynamic streaming company,” he said.
The number of Australian households with a streaming service is forecast to grow by almost 20% in the next four years, reaching 85% of all households, with each having between three and four subscriptions.
“Flash will ride this wave, offering news-hungry Australians a new way to stay informed about politics, business and local and international events,” the Foxtel chief executive predicted.
“Flash won’t be what the market expects,” he said. It will be more than simply aggregating live channels. Our experience and technology platform gives us the ability to draw on successful Kayo features and innovations to provide an outstanding news experience for our subscribers.”
Foxtel is jointly owned by News Corp Australia and Telstra.