Foxtel Now gets more expensive with channel pack restructure

Foxtel's answer to Netflix - Foxtel Now - has undergone a somewhat dramatic restructure, which will new customers paying more. In some cases, a lot more.

The starting price for Foxtel Now is now $25 per month, which includes both the Pop and Lifestyle packs. Drama, Sports, and Movies can be added on as secondary premium packs, while Kids programming and Documentaries are now exclusive to customers taking out the top $104 per month package.

Here's quick breakdown of what these packages look like:

$25 per month Pop and Lifestyle starter pack: includes content from Fox Showcase, Fox8, Comedy, MTV, Funny, Arena, Lifestyle, Lifestyle Home, Lifestyle Food, TLC, and E

$15 per month Drama premium pack: includes content from BBC UKTV, TV Hits, BBC First, and Universal TV

$29 per month Sport premium pack: includes content from Fox Cricket, Fox League, Fox Sports 503, Footy Play, Fox Sports 505, Fox Sports 506, Fox Sports More, BEIN Sports 1, BEIN Sports 2, BEING Sports, ESPN, ESPN 2, and Eurosport

$20 per month Movie premium pack: includes content from Premiere movies, Disney movies, Masterpiece movies, Action movies, Romance, movies, Thriller movies, Family movies, Comedy movies, More movies, and Movie greats

$104 per month Everything pack: All of the above, plus content from Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr, Cartoon Network, Cbeebies, Discovery Kids, Discovery Channel, National Geographic, Discovery Turbo, Crime + Investigation, A&E, BBC Knowledge, History, and Nat Geo Wild

Premium packs cannot be purchased without first subscribing to the Pop and Lifestyle starter pack. All Foxtel Now subscriptions also include Fox Sports News, Sky News Live, Sky News Weather, Sky News UK, Sky News Extra, Your Money, V, TVSN, and Fox News. 

So what do these changes mean? Well, the monthly price of the complete package hasn't changed, Foxtel Now subscriptions are now more expensive for the most part, given that new subscribers will now be billed at least $25 more month, up from $10 or $15. And while you could previously bundle Sports or Movies with a $10 starter pack, you now have to bundle them with a $25 starter pack. 

The biggest losers are however customers who want Kids content or Documentaries; these packs were previously $10 per month starter packs, but they're now locked behind the $104 tier.

The good news is these changes don't currently effect existing Foxtel Now subscribers. If you're got an active Foxtel Now subscription, you'll stay on your current package for the time being.

New customers are able to take up a two-week free trial with access to all channels and content before their first monthly bill.

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, but this isn't reflected in these Foxtel Now changes. Guess we'll have to wait and see.

Alex Choros

Managing Editor + Group Telco Editor | X | Instagram | Threads | LinkedIn

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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