Foxtel iQ5 launches – signalling the switch from “Cable TV” to streaming provider

Foxtel’s long anticipated new iQ5 set-top box has launched with a radical new design, new philosophy and a target of a whole new audience for the company.

The new Foxtel iQ5 is a “streaming” box at heart – capable of bringing in all Foxtel content, live and on-demand via the Internet. This means customers can self-install the box, connecting to their home internet to begin streaming the 100 live channels and huge range of on-demand content in minutes.

Additionally, the Foxtel iQ5 has apps like Netflix, YouTube, ABC, SBS built in, with Amazon Prime launching soon. And it’s these apps that have shaped the shift in focus for Foxtel, ensuring they get relevant before they are run out of business by the streaming giants of the world.

Foxtel CEO Patrick Delany said “The launch of the Foxtel iQ5 is another major step in our evolution as Australia’s most dynamic streaming company.

“The iQ5 is another proof point for Foxtel as the all-in-one place heart of the contemporary Australian home. The iQ5 not only makes it easier for our existing 1.7 million customers to enjoy the best Foxtel has to offer, this streaming iQ opens up Foxtel’s premium experience to another group of Australians who could not access cable or didn’t want satellite.

“This latest innovation requires no install, so subscribers can simply plug in and start streaming the best Australian and international sport, acclaimed dramas, blockbuster movies along with our selection of 100 live channels.

“This is the ultimate streaming machine with even more of the best streaming apps with Vevo and the recently announced Amazon Prime Video, to become available on iQ3, iQ4 and iQ5 set top boxes in the coming months. They join the existing suite of apps available on Foxtel including Netflix, YouTube, YouTube Kids, ABC iView and SBS OnDemand.

“We believe the future of the premium Foxtel brand and the iQ5 together with a wider set of integrated apps confirms our strategy for Foxtel to be the Australian aggregator of the world’s best streaming content,” Mr Delany said.

Customers will be offered the new Foxtel iQ5 as early as this week, with a wider availability later in the years.

Under the hood is a new ultra-fast chip to enable 4K streaming, this means for the first time you can stream Foxtel’s own 4K movie and sport channels which until now have required a Satellite installation.

There’s also still an option for the very thing Foxtel’s iQ boxes became famous for – recording. A small sleek similarly designed 1TB hard drive can be stacked under the Foxel iQ5 box allowing you to record your favourite shows – though we assume this only applies to Foxtel’s Live channels, not any streaming content.

For more detail, tune into this week’s episode of the EFTM Podcast where I interview Nick Dandy – Foxtel Group Director of Product Innovation about the Foxtel iQ5 box.