Foxtel Now price hike set for October

Foxtel Now could be a drastically different product from next month, with fine print on Telstra's website suggesting a restructure and higher starting price.

Telstra's broadband bundles (one of which includes Foxtel Now access) page currently states the following under "things you need to know": "Foxtel Now is changing in October 2018 with new pricing and packaging and will only have one starter pack (valued at $25/mth)". Foxtel Now currently has five different starter packs, with prices ranging between $10 and $15 per month.

While the Telstra site doesn't clarify exactly how Foxtel Now is changing, there's a few things this could mean. Foxtel could be consolidating Foxtel Now starter packs into a single package. While this change would make the service more expensive, it would make Foxtel Now look a bit more like Netflix and Stan where subscribers can access all content for a single charge.

Alternatively, Foxtel could be restructuring Foxtel Now to look more like a traditional Foxtel subscription; $25 per month is similar to the $26 Foxtel currently bills for its entry-level entertainment package. If this is the case, flagship series such as Game of Thrones could potentially end up locked behind additional channel packs, much as they were in the Foxtel Play days.

No mention has been made regarding the fate of Foxtel Now's current premium packs - Sports and Movies - both of which require subscribers to have a starter pack, but the Australian Financial Review has previously reported that Foxtel intends to launch a standalone sports streaming service to coincide with the start of its cricket coverage on November 4.

October will also see Foxtel increase the price of its traditional pay TV service. Packages will go up between $2 and $4 per month.

UPDATE (10/09/2018): A Foxtel spokesperson confirmed that Foxtel Now pricing "will change to $25 per month as an entry point for new and returning customers". Current subscribers will be unaffected and be able to stay on their current plan. 

Alex Choros

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Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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