Foxtel Group
Australian pay-TV and sports streaming group behind Kayo, BINGE and Foxtel, now owned by DAZN.
On the record
Checkpoint: Foxtel Plus and Platinum Plus prices rise $5/month, testing subscriber tolerance after Kayo's 33% hike
The call
Foxtel's sport rights keep viewers who have nowhere else to go, while its entertainment side leaks subscribers to HBO Max under a leaner, DAZN-owned structure.
Foxtel Group owns the exclusive rights to broadcast live Australian sports like rugby league, Australian rules football, and cricket in Australia through long-term contracts. These sports rights are genuinely hard to replace because no AI can create live sports, and streaming rivals like HBO Max cannot legally show these games. However, Foxtel is firing workers, losing entertainment shows to HBO Max, and raising prices sharply (up 33% for its Kayo sports service year-over-year, plus $5 more per month for regular Foxtel starting September 2026), which is pushing customers toward cheaper competitors. The one thing that could save or sink the company is whether sports fans will keep paying higher prices for those exclusive games, or whether the parent company Foxtel's owners will invest enough money to compete as rivals get stronger.
Why
01
AI pressure: None apparent. No AI product currently threatens live sports rights or subscription bundling; piracy and generative content tools are not yet a factor here. Could AI do the core job? Unlikely.
02
Bigger players: HBO Max (Warner Bros. Discovery). HBO Max launched in Australia March 2025 and took roughly 20% of new SVOD sign-ups by Q2 2025, eating into BINGE's former HBO audience. Could a giant copy it? Probably.
03
What protects it. Locked-in live sport: NRL through 2034 on a A$5.3bn deal, plus AFL, cricket and F1, none of which streamers can replicate.
What would change this call
BINGE subscriber trend reported in Foxtel Group's next earnings after Feb 2026 Flash/LifeStyle shutdown. Shows whether entertainment-side losses to HBO Max are stabilizing or worsening.
Kayo subscriber growth or churn figures released after the Feb 2026 price rise to A$45.99. Shows whether sports-tier price hikes are triggering customer defections.
DAZN public statements or filings on capital allocation to the Foxtel unit versus other DAZN markets. Shows whether DAZN's parent is committing to or pulling back from investing in Foxtel.
Kayo subscriber growth or churn figures released after the Feb 2026 price rise to A$45.99. Shows whether sports-tier price hikes are triggering customer defections.
DAZN public statements or filings on capital allocation to the Foxtel unit versus other DAZN markets. Shows whether DAZN's parent is committing to or pulling back from investing in Foxtel.
Key numbers
- NRL rights renewed at A$5.3bn over 7 years from 2028
- Kayo premium rose 33% in under a year, $35 to $45.99
- HBO Max took ~20% of new Australian SVOD sign-ups
Named risks
- Repeated price hikes (Kayo +33% in under a year, Foxtel +$5/month Sept 2026) may accelerate churn.
- NRL rights cost inflation (~80-90% uplift from 2028) squeezes margins amid subscriber price sensitivity.
- DAZN integration ongoing: Hubbl in maintenance mode, Flash/LifeStyle shut down, more restructuring possible.
- HBO Max continues eroding BINGE's entertainment subscriber base post-March 2025 launch.
- DAZN's global capital allocation could shift investment away from the Australian Foxtel unit.
Rivals, as read in July 2026
| Rival | Direction | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| HBO Max | gaining on | Captured ~20% of new Australian SVOD sign-ups Q2 2025, cannibalizing BINGE's HBO catalog |
| Stan | gaining on | Acquired EPL rights in 2025 after Optus Sport exit, becoming Australia's largest locally-owned streamer |
| Netflix | contesting | New sign-up share slipped to ~4.3% Q2 2025, still market leader by penetration per Numerator data |
| Optus Sport | gaining on | Exited Australian market in 2025, temporarily easing sports-streaming pressure on Foxtel |
Questions people ask
- Is Foxtel Group profitable in 2026?
- Foxtel stopped disclosing standalone financials after DAZN's April 2, 2025 acquisition. Its last public figures, Q4 FY24 (ended June 30, 2024), showed quarterly revenue of $506m, up 1% YoY, with no net profit figure released since deconsolidation from News Corp.
- Who owns Foxtel Group now?
- DAZN, the British sports-streaming group, completed its acquisition of Foxtel Group on April 2, 2025 at an enterprise value of A$3.4bn. News Corp received about 6% equity in DAZN plus a A$592m loan repayment, and Telstra took roughly 3%.
- Is Foxtel losing subscribers to HBO Max?
- HBO Max launched in Australia in March 2025 and reportedly captured around 20% of new SVOD sign-ups in Q2 2025, directly cannibalizing BINGE's former HBO content base, according to Mediaweek reporting dated July 31, 2025.
- Could AI replace Foxtel's sports broadcasting business?
- No. Foxtel's core moat is exclusive live sports rights, including NRL through 2034 under a new A$5.3bn seven-year deal announced July 7, 2026, backed by roughly A$1bn a year in rights and production spend that AI cannot replicate or license around.
- Is Foxtel Group cutting jobs?
- Yes. About 100 redundancies hit marketing, engineering and the roughly 35-person Hubbl team in late April 2025, weeks after DAZN's takeover, per Mediaweek reporting dated May 1, 2025, part of a broader post-acquisition restructuring.
- Who is Foxtel Group's biggest streaming competitor?
- HBO Max (Warner Bros. Discovery) is the sharpest entertainment threat, having taken about 20% of new Australian SVOD sign-ups since its March 2025 launch, while Stan (Nine-owned) gained EPL rights in 2025 after Optus Sport exited the market.
Timeline
- 2026-07-16Foxtel Plus/Platinum Plus tiers set for +$5/month rise from Sept 1, 2026
- 2026-07-07NRL rights deal announced: A$5.3bn over 7 years from 2028, largest in Australian sport
- 2026-03-04DAZN claims NFL Game Pass subs up 24%, nearing profitability and eyeing Spain revenue
- 2026-02-01Kayo premium tier price hits $45.99, up ~33% in under a year
- 2025-12-01Flash and LifeStyle apps wound down, content merged into BINGE
- 2025-11-10Hubbl drops third-party billing and Stack and Save discount program
- 2025-09-11Foxtel/DAZN upfront unveils Kayo Buddy AI companion and new ad formats
- 2025-07-07Kayo Sports mobile app gets first major redesign since 2018
- 2025-05-01About 100 redundancies hit Foxtel post-DAZN takeover, including Hubbl team
- 2025-04-02DAZN completes acquisition of Foxtel Group at A$3.4bn enterprise value
Revision history
26 July 2026
First assessed. Protection under test. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.
In the same band
Sources
- NRL historic media rights deal (2026-07-07)
- News Corp completes sale of Foxtel to DAZN (2025-04-02)
- DAZN secures financing for Foxtel acquisition (2025-01-24)
- Foxtel Group FY24 Q4 earnings (2024-08-09)
- Foxtel upfront presentation (2025-09-11)
- channelnews: Kayo growth (2025-10-09)
- Mediaweek: HBO Max market share (2025-07-31)
- Sporting News: Kayo price rise (2026-07-16)
- Mediaweek: Foxtel redundancies (2025-05-01)
- Revelio Labs: Foxtel headcount (2026-06-01)
- channelnews: Hubbl features (2025-11-10)
- Wikipedia: Foxtel