Foxtel Reportedly Seeking Deals With ESPN, BeIN Sports Australia

Foxtel "is believed to be hashing out deals" with ESPN and beIN Sports Australia to bring those networks' int'l content onto its "soon-to-be-launched sports streaming service," according to Max Mason of the AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW. Sources said that Foxtel "wants to beef up its new streaming service, which has been delayed and will likely launch" for the first cricket test match in early December, "with content beyond its local staple." Believed to be called Kayo Sports, the new service reportedly will, for the first time, "give consumers the ability to pay for just Foxtel's sport content without first forking out for a cable TV entry package." It is rumored the new product will cost between A$19.95 ($14.40) and A$25 ($18) per month. The new service is a "radical change to the way Foxtel has done business" since its inception in '95. It has, until now, "forced customers who want sport to pay for non-sport content, even if all they want is sport," helping keep average revenue per user up (AFR, 11/4).