On the weekend Foxtel dipped its toe in the water of a potential money making beast, and the feeling was good. As a result, access to online streams during future pay-per-view events looks likely.
The Pacquiao vs Horn fight was a global hit with some estimates putting it at 1 billion viewers. In Australia, as has been the case with these big events for many years, Main Event channel had the rights and were offering the broadcast for $59.95.
Learning from the dramas of the past when illegal online streams popped up, Foxtel tried something new this time round, and without much publicity, launched an online stream of the event – also pay-per-view.
Was it a success? A Foxtel spokesperson told EFTM “Yes, we’ve had a terrific reaction and are pleased with the results.”
To put that in perspective with the standard Main Event channel, Foxtel confirmed the numbers were impressive “With minimal promotion, close to 10 percent of the number of customers who viewed the MAIN EVENT viewed Sunday’s fight with our streamed internet offering via the pachorn.com.au website.”
Given that, it seems the concept has a strong future.
For those Foxtel subscribers who were not able to use the standard Foxtel App or Foxtel Now to access and subscribe to the stream, there’s good news there too – with a Foxtel Spokesperson confirming such; “In future we would like to make pay-per-view streams available in Foxtel Now and for Foxtel customers via the Foxtel App and are hoping to have this service available soon.”
Oh, and if you haven’t heard who won yet – no spoilers – great fight, doesn’t end in 60 seconds, and it’s available to stream for another day or so at the pachornstream.com.au website (for the small price of $59.95!)
Trev is a Technology Commentator, Dad, Speaker and Rev Head.
He produces and hosts several popular podcasts, EFTM, Two Blokes Talking Tech, Two Blokes Talking Electric Cars, The Best Movies You’ve Never Seen, and the Private Feed. He is the resident tech expert for Triple M on radio across Australia, and is the resident Tech Expert on Channel 9’s Today Show and appears regularly on 9 News, A Current Affair and Sky News Early Edition.
Father of three, he is often found in his Man Cave.
When Reddit was named by the eSafety commissioner and then the Minister for Communications as…
I fly a lot. I need information about my flight, the gate I'm headed to,…
Google has unveiled plans to launch Smart Glasses powered by AI over the next year,…
Kids across Australia are waking up to the Albanese Government's Social Media Minimum Age legislation…
If you have an older car, devoid of all the smart features of Apple CarPlay…
When you have any fleet there is no getting around that it has an impact,…