The Foxtel Group has announced the appointment of Conor Woods to the newly created role as head of Pay Per View to lead the continued growth in Main Event audiences.
Woods joins the Foxtel Group from SportBusiness where he was senior vice president, Sports Consultancy, where he led the growth of SportBusiness advisory services for broadcasters and rightsholders in Asia-Pacific. Previously, Woods was managing director Australia and New Zealand at beIN Sports, where he had responsibility for its five sports channels in Australia and New Zealand and its streaming services and digital assets.
Main Event, a long-standing Foxtel feature, has attracted new audiences in recent years with the growth of Kayo. This growth is not only coming from Kayo’s one million-strong subscriber base but fight fans who can use Kayo without a subscription to sign up for individual events.
Steve Crawley, executive director Fox Sports, said: “The popularity of the new generation of Pay Per View stars, including Tim Tszyu and Justis Huni, is also driving audience growth for the Main Event business.
“Together, the reach of the Foxtel Group’s sports platform and the growing popularity of Boxing, UFC and WWE events is creating a wet sail for the Pay Per View business. We are incredibly pleased to have someone of Conor’s experience join us to lead this growth.”
Commenting on his new role, Woods said: “Main Event is one of the most famous brands in Australian subscription television and instantly recognisable as the home of the biggest Pay Per View events.
“With the reach of Foxtel’s residential subscriber base, plus the commercial venues network, and now the addition of Kayo, Main Event’s reach is unparalleled. This is an exciting opportunity to develop outstanding events for fans and lead the growth of this business.”
Next on Main Event: UFC 265
Sunday, August 8 2021
Live 12.00pm AEST
Replay Monday 9 August 2021
The interim heavyweight title will be on the line as Derrick Lewis faces off with unbeaten Frenchman Ciryl Gane. In the co-main event, Amanda Nunes defends her bantamweight title against Julianna Pena.