Foxtel Media first announced plans to allow advertising on Foxtel’s streaming platform Binge at its 2023 Upfront several months ago.
Advertiser interest was strong immediately and this week the launch advertisers were revealed.
Speaking to Mediaweek about the impending launch, Foxtel Media chief executive Mark Frain (above) said: “I haven’t seen an ad product we’ve developed sell as fast to the industry. There was incredible initial take-up and it was nearly sold out very quickly.
“There has been testing this year to make sure everything will be delivering correctly at launch. We have just had the last steering company meeting and everything is on track for the launch.”
Advertising partners will officially start to see their ads appearing from March 30, but Frain said the initial rollout will be staggered across various devices.
See also: Foxtel Media reveals the brand partners ahead of advertising launch on BINGE
“After the launch of advertising on Netflix, there is a lot of interest in how we deliver. The biggest issue for them was scale of audience and delivery for clients and that is our number one priority.”
Binge subscribers watching on standard and premium plans won’t be served ads. However its subscribers with the basic $10 package that will be targeted.
Coinciding with the release of ads on the basic tier is the arrival of HD without any price rise. “We wanted to make sure the value equation stacks up for consumers,” said Frain about the viewing upgrade.
“Watching what will be just a handful of ads and getting HD at the same time should be a compelling proposition.”
Binge ad launch partners
Keeping Foxtel Media advertisers happy
The company is mindful of what works for advertisers, but also what subscribers will tolerate.
“We are very strict about keeping the ad load to a maximum of four minutes an hour,” said Frain.
“There will be one pre-roll and then a selection of mid-rolls through that hour. When it comes to ad frequency there will be a maximum of one per hour and three per day.
“To be honest we might have been too restrictive, but we wanted to be cautionary to start with. Our biggest aim is to make sure it’s a good experience for all from the outset. You don’t get many second chances with these sorts of innovations.”
There was no shortage of advertisers lining up outside Foxtel Media to fill the limited spots. “The sales team could have sold twice the number of packages if they could have. But we had to hold back to ensure it got off to a great start for all the partners.
“We have a scalable audience from launch so we are very confident of delivering for the advertisers.
Audience move to streaming
“Advertisers have been asking for two things in recent years. They have raised questions about the migration of audiences from traditional channels to streaming platforms. The second thing they have asked is about opportunities to advertise on them.
“For the last 18 months, we have seen an explosion of ad developments on platforms including Netflix, Disney+ and now Binge. The opportunity has met the advertising ask.”
A war chest of Binge content
Foxtel Group’s recent renewal of its HBO content deal could not have come at a better time for Binge customers to stay with the platform. Consumers have just ended the wild ride that was Last of Us and they are now being entertained by the fourth season of Succession.
“There are three core things at Foxtel Media we look at for a great advertising experience and great attention levels. You have to start with world-class content and after having Warner Brothers Discovery [home of HBO] and NBCU locked up again it provides a war chest of content for Binge. That is the first box ticked.
“The other ones are getting the ad load right and having frequency capping rules in place to safeguard that viewing experience.”
Being careful with ad loads has something that Foxtel has managed since launch. There will always be a number of customers who feel because they are paying to watch, any advertising is an intrusion.
“Foxtel has always run lower ad loads than any other platform,” said Frain. “I don’t think it is always acknowledged just how premium the viewing experience has been. What has started to change are the metrics around engagement and attention. That has started to prove how impactful and how valuable that experience is.
“That has helped Foxtel Media prove to the broader Foxtel Group how the balance is right between any platform from On Demand to streaming or linear. We have always treated the customer with respect. What we have done more than ever in the last 18 months is testing.
“We have tested advertising On Demand, advertising on Binge, both in terms of levels of attention and engagement and measuring the customer feedback. That has given the business confidence we can move into blended, hybrid models of subscription advertising revenue and to be able to feel comfortable we will still deliver a great customer experience.”
Frain noted the company has had the luxury of being able to learn by mistakes made at other broadcasters internationally. As a viewer, it seems better to see of a number of pre-rolls in return for an uninterrupted HBO drama for example.
Mark Frain with Binge executive director Alison Hurbert-Burns
Foxtel Media on measurement
There have been a number of questions that advertisers (and competitors) have raised about the size of the Foxtel audiences.
“We and other broadcasters continue to work closely with OzTAM to develop video player measurement as well as pushing more into VOZ later this year,” said Frain.
“With the total Foxtel Group close to 5m subscribers, we are working with data partners including OzTAM, Amplified Intelligence and Adgile. The flexibility the advertisers and agencies are willing to accept is less so about currency and more about different metrics. The industry is rightly so still fixated on reach and frequency and reach curves.
“There are also now a number of attention-based reach curves. As a media company, you need to be prepared to partner with these companies and share your data.”
Binge customers can now watch Succession in HD starting at $10 a month
Examining the streaming customer
As time goes on, Frain said Foxtel Media is better understanding the different types of Foxtel Group customers. “The subscribers that live within the streaming ecosystem are operating on a pause-and-play mentality. The Foxtel premium product offering everything in one place gives users a massive choice seven days a week across the whole year. The streaming landscape is different and is a younger end of the market pauses and plays various subscriptions.
The future is channels and on demand
“There are growing levels of consumption of channel-based viewing on the streaming platforms. Initially, the industry was fixated on the narrative that everything would be on demand and it would lead to the death of channels. But channels are having a rebirth. While many customers watch a lot on demand, we are seeing they are also watching a lean-back channel to watch instead of spending 20 minutes to find some content.
“There is a growing acceptance that channels are here to stay. If you do them well they have a large role to play in the future. Customers appreciate the curation of world-class content from programmers who are experts in their fields.”
Foxtel Media and the competition
“While we have positioned ourselves around low ad loads and less clutter, historically it never really cut through…but now it does,” admitted Frain. “That has happened because engagement and attention measurement and metrics are so important to the industry.
“We have been able to unequivocally prove our experience is better than others. Even looking at a platform like YouTube, historically there was positioning about the offer of fewer ads. However, there is now an increasing ad load and clutter on that platform.
“When we do benchmarking, be it against TV players or digital video platforms, invariably our attention metrics come out on top.
“When it comes to watchability we are performing equally well against current competitors and the ones who could be the future set. We have never been stronger when it comes to a premium video platform. Better than ever against the new metrics.”
Foxtel Media’s 2023 Upfront action
Market outlook
Confidence and short-term flexibility seem to sum up the opinions of some Mediaweek speaks to. Frain said: “The market is better than we think it is. As an industry we tend to try and talk ourselves into a recession at times. The forward bookings in our business are still really strong. There are always a number of changes in various categories like there are in any year. The market is a little shorter, but there are no black holes with revenue losses. I’m very optimistic and it seems a lot stronger than many think it is.”
See also: Foxtel Upfront: Bring on the ads as Binge joins Kayo to bring in ad dollars