Foxtel will reveal details about its new movies and drama streaming app on Saturday. The service then opens for business on Monday May 25. Ahead of the launch let’s look at what we know for sure.

All that Foxtel has confirmed so far is the launch date and that the new Foxtel service will be the home of movies and drama.

Foxtel has revealed that the service will offer more than 10,000 hours of the best local and international drama and movies.

Foxtel has also revealed that the content will be powered with an extensive collection of drama and movies from Warner Bros, HBO, HBO Max, Sony, NBCU, FX and the BBC.

See also: Foxtel’s new drama & movies streaming product launching May 25

Foxtel is this weekend expected to highlight many of the new dramas and movies available on its new service, but it is unclear if Foxtel is ready to reveal any new Australian drama commissions.

With HBO Max launching in the US next week, Foxtel will highlight the exclusive content from that new US streaming service after recently renewing its WarnerMedia/HBO deal.

Although the much-anticipated HBO Max Friends reunion has been delayed, Chelsea Handler revealed today she will be returning to stand-up with an HBO Max special.

The US streamer has also revealed it will exclusively world premiere Zack Snyder’s director’s cut of the Warner Bros. Pictures/DC feature film Justice League in 2021.

It has been assumed the new service will be called Binge after a report in The Australian Financial Review back on April 20.

No pricing details have yet to be revealed, with speculation that the new service will have to be cheaper than the $25 Foxtel charges Kayo subscribers for its streaming live sport service.

Foxtel may decide to stick with a $25 price point, maybe offering a special price of $40 if customers take both the sports and drama packages together. That would allow Foxtel to advertise the new service as “pricing starts at $15 for existing streaming customers”.

Some think that to compete with the likes of Stan and Netflix, the new Foxtel service will need to be closer to $10 as a standalone offer.

The move by Foxtel to launch the new service will use insights it has from its Kayo service. It will also be careful not to repeat some of the mistakes it made with its former streaming service Presto, which closed down at the end of 2016.

That service ultimately offered movies and TV in a package that some found confusing.

Consumers could subscribe to Presto TV as a standalone service for $9.99 a month, or the Presto Entertainment TV and movies bundle for $14.99 a month.

Foxtel and Seven West Media each held a 50 per cent equity stake in Presto TV Pty Limited, a subscription video on demand streaming service.

Presto started as a Foxtel-owned movie platform in early 2014, but expanded to television shows as Seven West Media came on board as an investor in 2015.

Presto was in part a spoiler for the then Nine/Fairfax Media streaming service Stan which launched on Australia Day in 2015 at $10, a price that remains the base plan.

Visit here on Saturday for full details of the new Foxtel service.

In the 10 weeks since 9 March, when COVID-19 restrictions began to be put in place, listening on demand, including live radio streaming across mobile, tablet, desktop/laptop and smart speakers has exceeded all past records:

Daily weekday live radio streams consumed are up 21% and weekday listening hours have increased by 19%.^

Smart speaker live radio streaming is up 28.8% since 9 March hitting a peak of 2 million listening hours in April; and 21% of all SCA live radio streaming occurs on a smart speaker.^

Live radio streaming on mobiles and tablets is up 8.3% and on desktops and laptops up 28.2%.^

SCA PodcastOne Australia podcasting downloads are up 49% from February to April.**

Catch up radio podcasts have seen a 16% increase in downloads since 12 April.#

SoundCloud Australian listeners are up by 43% since February and total listening hours on desktop is up 30% month on month.*

Last month, SCA’s Triple M and Hit networks’ special Anzac Day live Commemorative Service broadcast across 98 stations recorded record live streaming audiences with 480,000 active streams and 270,000 listening hours.^

“As feelings of anxiety are starting to be replaced by optimism as restrictions ease, audiences are settling into their new routines, choosing SCA as their entertainment destination and companion. We expected this listening behaviour to continue and have again broken previous all-time listening records,” said SCA chief sales officer Brian Gallagher.

“The new Infinite Dial Australia report, with research conducted prior to the pandemic, shows a clear trend with radio show live streaming, podcasting and smart speakers continuing to grow. Time spent listening to audio is also up to more than 12 and a half hours a week on a range of devices and would be more so during COVID-19. Audio has proven to be a key companion choice as people work from home to stay updated, informed and entertained.”

Sources

^ Adswizz Audiometrix March-May 2020
*SoundCloud O&O data February-April 2020
** Omny Studio February to April 2020
#Omny Studio March to May 2020

—

Photo credit: Ash Mar

Newsagents, supermarket staff and petrol and convenience workers are being acknowledged for their dedication in ensuring newspaper customers maintained access to crucial coverage during the pandemic.

The commitment of thousands of retail workers during these challenging times has meant that newspaper readers across the nation have not missed a beat.

Damian Eales, chief operating officer – publishing at News Corp Australia, said: “Beyond the newsroom, there is a network of extraordinary people who work tirelessly through the night and into the dawn to ensure that our papers are printed, transported, sold or delivered to the 2.8 million Australians who turn to us for trusted news and information.

“Like our journalists and print centre employees, these distribution and retail workers – such as newsagents – are among the unrecognised people who stayed on the retail front-lines, determined to help keep Australia informed and connected.

“They’re the vital force we rely upon to ensure that news can continue to reach thousands of communities across our nation, and help to share the amazing stories that our journalists uncover.

“To them, we say thank you for your dedication and commitment.”

The Thank You press campaign launches today in print across News Corp’s metro and regional newspapers and will run for a week.

The #SendingLove global initiative is promoting messages of love that unite communities all over the world during the fight against the effects of COVID-19. The socially-enabled DOOH campaign is facilitated by The World Out of Home Organisation (WOO) and many of its member organisations, and runs on advertising space donated by over 70 media owners across 153 cities; making it the biggest user generated campaign ever to run on DOOH.

Created by Grand Visual in the UK and facilitated by Talon Outdoor’s global OOH network, the campaign encourages participants to send love to those in places they cannot travel to, by getting creative with the heart-hand symbol and uploading their pictures and locations to http://www.sendinglove.to/ Participants are then given the option to donate to the global COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund before receiving a photo of their picture playing on-screen in their chosen city to share with friends and family across social channels.

With support from outdoor operators across the globe, QMS Media are helping deliver the messages of love to people in Melbourne via Grand Visuals platform that geo targets messages to the chosen city and connects communities to messages of love from afar in a show of global strength and solidarity.

QMS chief marketing officer Sara Lappage said: “We are delighted to be on board and displaying messages of love and unity from around the world to the people of Melbourne. Despite the constraints of lockdown, it is great to see the out of home community coming together to fight the effects of COVID-19, and social distancing in particular, with a campaign that connects and reassures people that we are in this together.”

Dan Dawson, chief creative officer Grand Visual, said: “We set out with one thing in mind, to provide people with the opportunity to send love to their favourite places around the world. With an internationally understood heart shaped hand signal at the centre of the creative – we could share the love in cities the world over despite the constraints of lockdown, with shareable content further extending the message via social channels.”

Are we sure we should be re-opening the country when there are still so many TV series beginning? How will we find time to watch them all if isolation is ending?

The Great (now on Stan) has a great Aussie connection thanks to creator Tony McNamara, who brought us Doctor Doctor (Nine). That’s also why Whyhope hospital receptionist Betty is in The Great playing a mad aunt, because the great actress Belinda Bromilow is married to McNamara in real life.

The Great is the second Catherine The Great series of recent months, after Helen Mirren played her last year. Now the role ages down for Elle Fanning, and stays loose with the truth, allowing lots of leeway to be fanciful and outrageous.

Belgravia

Belgravia (Sunday on BBC First) is the latest from Julian Fellowes and if you are expecting another Downton Abbey, maybe lower your expectations. Sure, the costumes are elegant and the dialects are crisp, but the story is convoluted. At least Harriet Walter is fabulous as the Countess of Brockenhurst, and is also slaying it as the chain-smoking Dasha on Killing Eve (Monday on iView) right now.

Reese Witherspoon has been on a roll producing first class shows for herself like Big Little Lies and Morning Wars. Now comes Little Fires Everywhere (now on Amazon Prime) in which she plays the exact same character she did in Big Little Lies. Hopefully there is another chick literature title out there with the world ‘little’ in it, so Reese can complete a trilogy of mouthy moms with troubled teens and harried husbands.

Hightown

Now to a complicated lesbian story and not Ruby Rose “leaving” Batwoman after just one season. Hightown (now on Stan) is about a complicated lesbian cop and it’s my pick of the week so far. It’s got hard-partying, heroin and Jackie Quinones (Monica Raymond) is a hot mess seducing tourists and smashing cars. Then she finds a dead body in the sand and heads into rehab. Wonder what Ruby will be heading to … obscurity?

It’s good to see Troy Kinne (Monday on 10) back for another series because nothing beats a good Aussie comedy. Is Insiders (Sunday on ABC) having a laugh inviting back Greg Sheridan, even though he slammed the ABC just a few weeks ago? Let’s hope Miriam Margolyes’ Almost Australian (Tuesday on ABC) doesn’t push Greg over the edge, but who will stop Insiders from throwing itself off a cliff?

Seven News 1,190,000/1,108,000
Nine News 1,060,000/1,020,000
ABC News 771,000
A Current Affair 752,000
The Project 398,000/604,000
7.30 539,000
10 News 451,000/329,000
Sunrise 291,000
News Breakfast 258,000
The Drum 219,000
SBS World News 210,000
Today 201,000
The Latest 165,000

Seven: The channel has won its second successive night all people for the primary channel and network.
Home and Away finished its week with an average of 586,000 across three episodes.
The 2009 movie The Proposal then did 314,000.

 Nine: A Current Affair continues to record strong ratings this week with a Thursday on 752,000, up from 721,000 on Tuesday.
RBT then did 464,000.
The 2012 movie The Bourne Legacy followed on 279,000.

10: MasterChef was the only place to be for advertisers looking for a big audience all people and in all key demos. The immunity episode started with a four-way packet noodle challenge and then climaxed with Poh v Jess in what could have been a preview of the final with arguably the two best cooks at present. Both dishes were super impressive, but it was 21-year-old Jess who really wowed the judges, particularly Jock. The episode did 985,000 after 944,000 a week ago.

ABC: Grand Designs Australia was tracking the build of as Palm Springs themed home in Sydney’s Balgowlah. The episode did 349,000.
Preceding it was The Heights on just 214,000.

SBS: Another big night for Anglophiles with The World’s Most Beautiful Railway on 283,000 followed by How the Victorians Built Britain on 220,000.