Foxtel’s high definition channels are set to launch in April this year, with a four channel offering of sport, documentaries and general entertainment.
Foxtel has kept the exact launch date quiet but B&T has learned April will see the launch of its first foray into stand-alone HD channels and a set-top box.
However, its major sales house Multi Channel Network is only just beginning to go out to market with the advertising opportunities available on the new offering.
The four channels will not be exact copies of existing Foxtel channels but new entities using high definition content.
The subscription TV provider will start with four HD channels and will increase this number in 2009. Due to problems with limited bandwidth for satellite broadcasts, Foxtel has to wait for increased bandwidth to become available via an Optus satellite. This should become available in April 2009, when the broadcaster plans to increase its high definition output.
Multi Channel Network chief executive Anthony Fitzgerald said that after an official preview event on January 30, MCN will be going out to market with advertising opportunities for the new channels. He added that there would be ad packages available: “I think it’s fair to say we will be intelligently packaging sponsorship opportunities to provide value in a ground breaking launch.”
OMD managing partner and director of trading Peter Horgan said the launch of Foxtel HD “from our perspective is just another targeting option for Foxtel”.
Horgan said buying ad time would not be as complicated with Foxtel as it will be with the recently launched free-to-air HD channels, due to the pricing structure. While Foxtel and its sales houses are already selling a fragmented audience to media agencies, the free-to-air networks work on a fixed rate card system which will “make it tough for them to restructure their pricing”, he said.
