Imagine not having a television connection. Your subscription ran out, or the cable stopped working, horrifying even to contemplate.
Foxtel and Austar are Australian-based telecommunication organizations that run direct broadcast, satellite television, cable television, IPTV streaming service, and subscription television services.
Foxtel and Austar are considered to be the leading television providers to the inhabitants of Australia.
Key Takeaways
- Foxtel is an Australian pay television company offering cable, satellite, and streaming services, while Austar was a regional pay television provider which merged with Foxtel in 2012.
- Foxtel provides a wider range of channels and content than the former Austar service.
- Austar primarily serves rural and regional areas, while Foxtel covers metropolitan and regional areas.
Foxtel vs Austar
The difference between Foxtel and Austar is that while Foxtel still functions as an Australian pay television company, Foxtel currently owns Austar, and, therefore a subsidiary. Foxtel provides its customers with direct satellite and cable services whereas Austar provides mobile telephone and dial-up Internet services along with direct satellite and cable services.
Based in Australia, Foxtel is a pay-television company formed in April 2018.
Foxtel was formed as a joint venture between News Corporation and Telstra, offering its customers several services, including cable television, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming.
Though the official date is found to be recent, Foxtel’s joint venture is born from a predecessor that possesses a long history in telecommunication services.
Austar was an Australian-based telecommunication services company that was founded in 1995.
Austar was originally named Community Entertainment Television that is, CETV) Austar offered its customers exclusive services, including subscription television and the availability of internet access on mobile phones.
Foxtel procured the rights to Austar in 2012, merging it into a national system.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Foxtel | Austar |
|---|---|---|
| Year of Establishment | April 2018, the joint venture gained rights to Austar | 22 October 1995; 26 years ago (Currently owned by Foxtel) |
| Industry Type | Pay-TV, Broadband and Telephone services | Telecommunications |
| Location of the Headquarters | North Ryde, Sydney | Robina Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia |
| Products | Satellite, Cable, IPTV | Satellite cable, direct broadcast, television, internet access on mobile phones |
| Legacy | Predecessor: Austar | Successor: Foxtel |
What is Foxtel?
Foxtel is an Australian-based company that deals with pay television. To its customers and viewers, it provides cable services through Telstra hybrid fibre-coaxial (HFC) cable into Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and the Golden Coast.
Foxtel offers several noteworthy services, such as cable TV, satellite television, direct broadcast, and IPTV streaming services.
Founded in April 2018, Foxtel succeeds Austar. This acquisition was formed as a joint venture between News Corporation (currently known as News Corp), and Telstra.
The pair of organizations hold 65% and 35% share of the ownership, with News Corp having 65% and Telstra 35%.
Foxtel was officially established in April 2018 post the joint venture gained rights to Austar. Foxtel was born with ‘FOX’ meant for News Corp, and ‘TEL’ meant Telstra.
Foxtel offers its customers several exclusive services such as Pay TV, Broadband, telephone services, satellite TV, Cable, and IPTV. With a whopping 3.5 million subscribers, Foxtel has carved its mark in the telecommunication sector.
The Foxtel organization headquarters is located in North Ryde, Sydney, with services spread across a wide range of metropolitan cities and regional areas across Australia.
It has been announced and guaranteed that Austar customers will now be completely considered Foxtel customers.
What is Austar?
Austar is now owned by Foxtel. Before its acquisition, Austar was an Australian telecommunications company. It dealt with satellite cable, direct broadcast, subscription cable television, internet access on mobile phones, etc.
Austar was founded on 22nd October 1995 and named Community Entertainment Television (CETV). An Australian-based telecommunication services company that offered its customers exclusive services continent-wide.
The Austar organization headquarters is located in Robina Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.
With a subscription base of over 747,148 (as of 30th June 2010), Austar grew to be the largest operator of subscription television in both regional and rural areas of Australia.
More than 2.4 million households, one-third of all Australian households, subscribe to Austar.
Foxtel currently owns Austar after an acquisition of a joint venture. Prior to this merger, Austar was involved in a partnership with Namco Bandai Partners, a venture between Sega, Ozisoft, and Foxtel, in providing services to Sega Channel.
The acquisition of Austar by Foxtel occurred in 2012, after which all Austar operations were merged into a national system. By 2013, MyStar-related online services were removed and replaced with Foxtel iQ units.
In 2014, the Austar branding was taken over and replaced with the Foxtel moniker.
Main Differences Between Foxtel and Austar
- The pivotal difference between Foxtel and Austar is that Austar is no longer active and is now under the control of Foxtel, post its acquisition in 2012.
- They are both Australian-based companies that focus on similar services.
- Foxtel offers its clients Satellite, Cable, and IPTV, while Austar offers services including satellite cable, television, direct broadcast, and internet access on mobile phones.
- Although difficult to locate the difference in the services offered, Foxtel is primarily considered an industry involved in Pay TV, Broadband, and Telephone services. Austar, on the other hand, is known as a telecommunications industry.
- The headquarters of Foxtel is located in North Ryde, Sydney. The headquarters of Austar was located in Robina Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.
- Foxtel succeeds Austar. Austar precedes Foxtel.
- https://cpd.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Centre_for_Policy_Development_Issue_Brief.pdf
- https://eprints.qut.edu.au/83503/
Last Updated : 13 July, 2023
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The article is very informative and presents a clear comparison between Foxtel and Austar. It gives a comprehensive history and current situation of both organizations.
The article does a great job explaining and highlighting the key differences between Foxtel and Austar.
Thank you for this article. I was unaware of Foxtel and Austar’s history. This was an interesting read.
It can be argued that the article is too lengthy. While some might find the history interesting, others may just want the main comparisons.
The Foxtel vs Austar section was extremely informative!
I find the information very interesting and will research more on this topic.
This is quite an in-depth article that does justice to the topic.
The article does a great job of highlighting the differences between Foxtel and Austar. It is clear and well-written.
Austar was very popular. It seems such a pity it isn’t active anymore.
Yes, Austar had quite the following. It’s nice that it’s now part of Foxtel, though.
Foxtel seems to be quite ahead of Austar in terms of the sheer range of services provided.
It’s no wonder that Foxtel took over Austar given its wider range of services.
Indeed, Foxtel has a lot to offer in terms of different types of media services.
Foxtel and Austar are so interesting! The fact that they offer such a wide range of services and products is so appealing!
I agree. It’s fascinating how they were able to merge different services into one organization.
Extensive information on Foxtel and Austar, I learned a lot!
Wow, I had no idea about the history of these telecommunications companies. I find the article to be quite interesting and educational.
Foxtel provides a lot of services for its customers, but Austar seemed to cover the rural areas well, I wonder how this changed after the acquisition.
Foxtel does cover a wide range now, including rural areas, so I don’t think it changed much.
That’s a good point. I wonder if there are any statistics comparing the service coverage of Foxtel before and after acquiring Austar.