Amid great fanfare, pumping surround sound, celebrity attendances and an audio-visual display worthy of a theme park attraction (Cue Titanic theme music), Foxtel officially this week unveiled the biggest changes to the service since the cable rollout began in 1995.
The launch wasn't short on marketing hype and buzzwords: Foxtel are calling it a "digital revolution" in home entertainment, and have introduced "Generation Next", a branding platform designed to introduce sweeping changes to subscription TV in Australia.
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| Lights, cameras, Foxtel! The 2009 official 'Next Generation Launch' |
Currently, 150 channels are now avaliable on Foxtel. But there are also other ways Foxtel is changing:
12 new SD channels, including EuroSport
12 new SD channels will be launched, including a channel devoted to murder mysteries called 13th Street, an Australian orientated Lifestyle channel addition called 'Lifestyle You' (with reportedly 95% local content) and for sports fans, EuroSport finally arrives in Australia - promising more live international sport choices to compliment Foxtel's four existing sports channels.
Better movie selection
In addition to these channels, the movie offerings have grown more diverse too; traditional movie selections have been rebranded and spliced into genre specific channels, including Showtime action, Showtime comedy and Starpics for celebrity orientated movie flicks. Existing movie channels will not change however.
There's even a movie channel devoted to families called FMC. Foxtel will also offer a range of HD movie channels (of the same SD channels) to compliment these changes.
Download on demand: 100 hours of new TV downloads per month
Foxtel's new download service means you'll soon be able to catch up on missed shows via their new online download site, which will offer 100 new hours of programming every month at no additional cost to Foxtel subscribers.
In an obvious nod to Australian's love affair with BitTorrent, Foxtel chief executive Kim Williams noted that online downloads will not just be in the realms of 'net savvy' kids. The service will allow subscribers to catch up on top ranked shows and films, in a similar way that Channel Nine made Underbelly 2 episodes available for download after each broadcast earlier this year.
Foxtel bails on Mac users
Unfortunately, the useful download service will only work for PC users: a Foxtel brochure extends its tongue-in-cheek apology to Apple users ("Sorry Mac fans"), who won't get access to the catch-up service at all. It also isn't clear how large the downloaded files will be and whether any ISPs will enter into download agreements with Foxtel to counter download cap limits placed on popular broadband plans.
iQ and iQ2 changes - revamped prrogramme guides, video previews
Fortunately, the bad old days of the iQ recording device seem to be a thing of the past (we hope). Foxtel are betting big on a host of menu changes to the iQ2 service, including revamped programme guides for each and the ability to watch a video preview of what's on TV, while you search for new shows to record. Foxtel will also allow subscribers to personalise their own TV guide, with the ability to nominate 50 channels for quicker guide navigation.
In addition to these software changes, the iQ is set to become central to the Foxtel service. New subscription plans will incorporate the iQ as part of each package; it will no longer be optional.
Price changes
At this time, some other media sites have reported a slew of confusing pricing reports. To err on the side of caution, we have an official slide taken from the official Foxtel launch below, which may give you some idea of the new pricing plans. As expected, the iQ recording device features heavily in each plan.
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| Official pricing sheet shown by Chief Executive Kim Williams at the launch. Click on image for larger size. |
iSuggest and Record Me
Foxtel will also offer a recommendation service (iSuggest) that gives people an idea of what to watch, based on a number of different categories, including: Must See, Sports, Drama and Lifestyle and HD. A bright and cheery GUI replaces the usual text menu, allowing subscribers to search via picture logos.
Finally, Record Me is a nice little addition to the usual promo piece. In future, whenever Foxtel viewers see a promo for a specific show at a specific time, viewers will be able to press a new button that will remember to record that programme at the correct specified day, time and date.