This interview is part of a a weekly interview series with the speakers who will present at the upcoming PANPA Future Forum on the 26th-27th August 2010.
More details of the conference can be found here.
By REBECCA LEAVER
What do you hope to talk about at the PANPA Future Forum in August?
I will talk about the profound changes in technology, consumer expectations and business models brought about by the rise of the digital economy. I will also talk about what we as media executives must do to keep transforming our companies to meet the needs of consumers in what is a remarkable new world. It is something I am very positive about because, while it presents us all with challenges, the digital economy provides us all with marvellous new ways of connecting with Australian consumers.
Who do you think will get the most out of your presentation?
I am hoping that my presentation will appeal to all practitioners in the media and digital economy because I want to talk about the ways in which media companies can successfully respond to the big changes that are occurring in the digital economy. I will focus on FOXTEL, as it is what I know best, but I think our experience has broader application for all media executives.
Can you give some background about FOXTEL – i.e. viewership, recent growth, how many channels
FOXTEL's customer base is made-up of 1.6 million subscribing households and with our regional partners at Austar we deliver our service to around 7.5 million individual Australians. We offer a full digital service including: the choice of over 200 channels, a large range of interactive services, Australia's most comprehensive HD offering and the FOXTEL iQ or personal digital recorder. The FOXTEL iQ transforms the way you watch television - giving you control over what you watch by allowing you to easily record the shows you love and to built up a library of your favourite programs for viewing at a time that suites you.
In terms of growth and viewership, we have grown well over the last six years at around 9.5% compound annual growth. This year our numbers have been solid (we will announce our results on August 12). In terms of viewership - people in FOXTEL homes spend about 58% of their television viewing time watching FOXTEL once they have chosen to take FOXTEL.
How do you promote innovative thinking at FOXTEL?
We do this by listening very carefully and consistently to what our customers are saying they want and expect. Australian consumers are some of the smartest and most savvy in the world. By making sure we meet their changing entertainment needs in the digital economy we remain innovative. In side of this, we have a very active on-going programme of: engaging with consumer and technical developments across the world; talking with, and learning from, our colleagues in the media sector across the globe - including companies such as Sky in the UK which is one of the very best broadcasters in the world; discussing and assessing key consumer, business and technical developments with our business partners including our channel and technology partners; and attending key local and international conferences relevant to our sector.
With digital technological advancements occurring so rapidly, what role do you think government has in fostering and enabling innovative practices and thinking in media businesses?
In our sector much media regulation's purpose is to protect the free to air networks by holding back competitors, consumer empowerment and the rise of the digital economy. The terrestrial networks are some of the most protected entities in Australian commercial life. They enjoy, for instance, the protection of the longest sports rights list in the world (which reserves over 1300 sporting events to them first in a non-Olympic year); a prohibition on the entry of new terrestrial broadcasters into Australia; and the gifting of large amounts of public spectrum for no additional charge. All the economic reforms in Australia over the last 25 years tell us that the best way to advance productivity, investment and innovative practices and new consumer services is to remove protections of incumbent operators. I believe, therefore, that the best way of advancing innovative practices is to remove the lavish set of protections that the old terrestrial networks continue to enjoy.
What’s your view on current industry media protection in Australia?
My view is that such protection advances the interests of the incumbent terrestrial broadcasters, not Australian consumers. The current Broadcasting Services Act is essentially an analogue era Act, which has passed its used-by-date. To its great credit the Government has recognised this fact and is proposing to review media policy settings. We fully support this proposed review.
How successful has FOXTEL’s IQ been?
It has been successful. The FOXTEL iQ - or personal video recorder - caters perfectly for consumer entertainment needs in the digital economy and there are now over 1 million of them in FOXTEL subscriber households. The iQ allows you, at the touch of a button, to record your favourite shows from the choice of over 200 channels, build up a library of your favourites programs and then watch them at a time that suits you. It caters straight to one of the biggest consumer trends of the digital media - personalisation - and allows you to watch what you want, when you want to. The take up of the iQ - mostly driven by word of mouth - has been strong.
What role do you think the personalisation of media products plays in the current media landscape. How do you see it progressing in the future?
As I said, personalisation is one of the biggest trend in digital media. People want to control their viewing and ensure it meets their needs. They no longer accept a centralised programmer - at one of the old five networks - controlling what they watch. Put most simply people want to watch what they want, when they want to and over a device of their choice. I only see this trend towards personalisation intensifying into the future. This is why FOXTEL continues to invest heavily to provide FOXTEL over multiple networks and to multiple devices. We currently provide FOXTEL over cable, satellite, mobile phones, PCs and even aeroplanes. This year we will launch around 30 channels over Microsoft's Xbox Live, which will be delivered directly to your television set over the internet and via Xbox Live. This year we will also make the entire video store and more available via broadband direct to over 780,000 internet enabled FOXTEL IQ boxes in our customer's homes.
What is your view on the current state of the newspaper industry in Australia and the Pacific? What do you see as the future of newspaper businesses?
I feel a little reluctant to provide my views on the newspaper industry to your readers given they are such experts in the topic. But as you ask, I respond with caution. I don't need to tell many of your readers that in parts of the world newspapers have gone through tough times. But from what I can see many newspapers in the UK for instance are fascinating in terms of how they are: focusing on what readers want; becoming distinctive; introducing new revenue models; offering their services across multiple devices; and managing their costs. In the USA the Wall Street Journal's internet edition is a superb functioning new model and the mobile application is simply the best application I have come across for reading a newspaper on your mobile device. Similarly, The Australian's offer on the I-Pad is an absolutely excellent offering - I read both avidly each day.
What opportunities do you think the NBN could provide for newspaper publishers over the next few years?
Well the NBN will take at least 8 years to roll-out and possibly longer, so I think that the full effects of it will progressively be revealed. Over time the NBN will heighten all those trends that we see occurring today in the digital economy - personalisation, consumers demand for control, fragmenting audiences as well being an extraordinary force for consolidation and new operating and delivery models.
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