Foxtel Group CEO Patrick Delany is set to swap Sydney for London, taking on the chief operating officer role at its parent company DAZN.
Delany will be replaced at the helm of Foxtel Group by Peter O’Connell, who currently sits on the company’s board.
The shake-up was first reported by the Australian Financial Review, which cited two sources “not permitted to speak publicly” confirmed the leadership changes.
The AFR understands an official announcement could come as early as this week.
O’Connell, who joined the Foxtel board last year, took part in the broadcasters negotiations to retain the NRL rights from 2028 to 2034. He is also currently the chairman of challenger telecommunications brand Superloop and luxury car retailer Autosports Group.
He doesn’t have any prior media experience, but he did co-found Australian telecommunications provider Amaysim in 2010 and oversaw its sale to Optus in 2021 for $250 million.
Delany joined Foxtel as its digital director in 2002 and rose to group CEO in 2018.
This latest promotion was made possible by DAZN’s $3.4 million dollar purchase of Foxtel in April last year. As part of this deal, former owners News Australia and Telstra secured a 6 per cent stake, a 3 per cent stake, respectively, and a DAZN board seat.
The deal was branded “the most significant transformation” in Foxtel’s history.
“I can say with complete confidence that what this company has done in the last 12 months is the most significant transformation that any Australian media company has done in history,” he said. “DAZN in this country is the infrastructure that’s the future of sports and entertainment, and we run on it,” said outgoing Group CEO Delany at DAZN Media+’s upfront.
The news follows the announcement that DAZN would be retiring some of the famous Foxtel brand. At DAZN Media+’s upfront, held last Thursday at Sydney’s The Cutaway, the company said it would rebrand Foxtel Media to DAZN Media+ and unite Fox Sports and Kayo SPORTS under one Kayo SPORTS banner.
As part of the transition, Fox Footy, Fox Cricket and Fox League will become Kayo Footy, Kayo Cricket and Kayo League, while all other Fox Sports channels will become Kayo SPORTS.
An official announcement is yet to be made by the global streaming giant and Foxtel declined to comment.
