Foxtel is reportedly working on a new dedicated streaming device which may compete with co-owner Telstra'a own Telstra TV device, and the new device, dubbed the "puck", may also make room for streaming rival Netflix's app.
According to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald, Foxtel is seriously considering allowing Netflix to co-habitate on its yet unannounced streaming box, as a way to enhance the overall user experience. Foxtel's outgoing chief Richard Freudenstein told the Australian Financial Review in February that the company will try to "maximise" all of its distribution channels, and that "it's really important we have a great user experience on them".
Rival pay TV provider Fetch TV already hosts Stan and Netflix's streaming apps on its set top boxes, and it is expected Foxtel may follow suit, although there might just not be a place for Stan, which is considered a more direct local rival to the Foxtel owned Presto streaming service.
In the same SMH report, sources say Foxtel is also negotiating hard for video-on-demand rights from its content suppliers, including the BBC and Viacom, in order to bolster its Anytime streaming library.
Foxtel will be launching a new advertising campaign that promotes its Anytime service, which offers non-linear video-on-demand viewing of many of the pay TV provider's shows and movies.
