Nightlife puts Aussie music first as Foxtel ditches MTV

Anula Wiwatowska - Offsite Editorial Lead

Last updated 30 June 2025

A pause and play symbol, the play symbol has the shape of Australia inside it, and both are in the Aussie green and gold.

Foxtel today confirmed it is bringing back MAX and Country Music Channel (CMC), along with a slew of other locally grown live music channels. Seven specialty channels powered by Nightlife Music will land on Foxtel and Binge from July 1, including Australian Played, which will exclusively highlight Australian artists. Other channels include Trending, Kids, Club, and Retro, which will replace the current MTV package come midnight.

We already knew this switch was coming after spotting new channel name tests via MediaSpy last week. At the time, both Foxtel and Nightlife Music wouldn't confirm the partnership, but now the duo seem hyped to bring the latest musical offering to subscribers.

Nightlife’s Head of Music & Content, Matthew Lymbury said: "Relaunching favourites like Max and CMC is a ‘pinch me‘ moment. Our archive spans generations, from country classics to dancefloor anthems – and we’re excited to bring it to viewers at home. Australian Played puts homegrown talent front and centre – it’s a true celebration of Aussie music, now available in households nationwide.”

Nightlife spearheads the Australian Played, Australian Paid initiative which aims to make it easier to find and listen to local music, and ensure artists are compensated per stream. In a chat with Lymbury, he told WhistleOut they're excited to connect more listeners with Australian music, but the remuneration won't work the same way it does in their streaming division. While artists are paid in a pay-per-play model across Nightlife's Crowd DJ platform, those featured on the new music channels will get paid out via a wider licensing system run by APRA and ARIA.

Based on the latest numbers, Crowd DJ pays out a little more per play compared to Spotify but it still won't be a huge source of income for most. In Lymbury's words, "[it] won't buy you the Mercedes, but [it'll] help put petrol in it." Instead, the main focus is on getting artists heard, and putting Australian content first both in these channels and through the streaming platform.

Seemingly, this approach to discovery is working. According to Nightlife, adding an Australian Played badge to Aussie artists on their Crowd DJ platform resulted in a 30% increase in local musicians' plays. Foxtel and Nightlife are excited about the prospect of further amplifying these results within the streaming and television space.

Chief Executive Foxtel, Kayo Sports, and Binge, Hilary Perchard said: “Music is a big part of Australian entertainment culture, and our new offering on Foxtel unlocks a world of choice, variety, and fresh ways to experience music. This exciting evolution is all about connecting our customers—across all demographics—with the genres and brands they love, while also championing Australian talent. With the most extensive line-up of music on TV and streaming, we are uniting more Aussie companies as Australia’s greatest entertainer”.

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Anula Wiwatowska

Offsite Editorial Lead | Instagram

Anula is the Off-Site Editorial Lead for WhistleOut Australia, and an award winning tech journalist. She has been writing about the Australian telco industry, and consumer technology for over five years, and has been known to tell her Uber driver which phone they should upgrade to next.

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