I didn’t think Hubbl had much of a future when I first heard it rumoured. The launch gave me a glimmer of hope for two reasons but today, one of those has been axed so the demise of Hubbl seems imminent in my view
The ability to watch Free to Air channels via your internet connection was a masterstroke, engineered for the public first by Hubbl, though Fetch had been testing it for some years and has since made it available to their users.
But add to that the ability to “Stack and Save” on Hubbl and there were real cost savings to be made on your monthly bills.
No more!
Hubble has advised customers that Stack and Save will be discontinued as of December 10th.
In their email they let you know just how much more you’re up for, and while for me it wasn’t much, the concept, the idea of a single bill and discounts for having more made sense.
But without more services jumping on board, I guess it was a hard sell into customers.
Hubbl won’t stop working, and Foxtel won’t stop selling Hubbl. They’ve already cut huge numbers of staff in the wake of their new DAZN ownership, but the removal of this key feature will certainly make many people wonder if a simple Chromecast with Google TV, Fire TV or Fetch box might just be a simpler and better experience overall.
The VALUE proposition that Hubbl offered is now gone, and it’s just another streaming box in a sea of streaming boxes. No software update from global giant Comcast is going to make that any different.
UPDATE:
In response to our article, Hilary Perchard, CEO of Foxtel, Kayo and BINGE says “We are committed to Hubbl. We have a loyal, highly engaged customer base that loves the product, and we are pleased to have completed a new agreement that extends our relationship with Comcast.
“It allows us to focus on providing the technology to reflect what app-savvy users expect from their TV experience and what they value most about Hubbl.”
A spokesperson went on to explain that “in December we will simplifying one aspect of our Hubbl offering by discontinuing the ‘Stack and Save’ billing feature. “
Simplification? Well, that’s one way to describe it, but it may be more of a response to deals being offered outside of Hubbl, and the lack of support for things like Additional Family members etc.
Bottom line, the simplification is a stripping back of the product to be a simple app interface – like Google TV. I stand by my call that simply offering Google TV to users would have been a cheaper approach for Foxtel.
Trev is a Technology Commentator, Dad, Speaker and Rev Head.
He produces and hosts two popular podcasts, EFTM and Two Blokes Talking Tech. He also appears on over 50 radio stations across Australia weekly, and is the resident Tech Expert on Channel 9’s Today Show each day and appears regularly on A Current Affair.
Father of three, he is often found down in his Man Cave.
