Foxtel has responded to press allegations that it inflates its streaming numbers on key sports content including NRL and AFL broadcasts.
The Sydney Morning Herald, owned by Channel Nine, claimed this morning that ratings body OzTam contacted the streaming service after its year-on-year viewing figures for the NRL jumped 17 percent year-on-year with no information of where the jump came from.
OzTAM CEO Doug Peiffer reportedly contacted Foxtel to understand the numbers after he saw them in a press release: “I have put a call into Foxtel to understand how they have put those numbers together,” Peiffer said.
In response to the accusations, a spokesperson from Foxtel said to B&T: “The Foxtel Group is proud to be the home of Australia’s most premium and popular sports and entertainment content – with more than 4.4 million subscribers across our Foxtel, BINGE, Flash and Kayo Sports services – and 65 percent of our customers now streaming.”
“This includes almost 3 million sports subscribers across Foxtel and Kayo Sports who are driving higher audiences for key programs and events, like we saw with Fox Sports Australia’s incredible coverage of the record-breaking first round of the 2023 NRL season. Transparency and accuracy of data around audience numbers is something which we take incredibly seriously – and we continue to work closely with OzTAM in relation to its industry-wide linear reporting.”
