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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

  1. 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.
  2. Foxtel provides a wider range of channels and content than the former Austar service.
  3. 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.

Foxtel vs Austar

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.

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Foxtel procured the rights to Austar in 2012, merging it into a national system.

Comparison Table

Parameters of ComparisonFoxtelAustar
Year of EstablishmentApril 2018, the joint venture gained rights to Austar22 October 1995; 26 years ago (Currently owned by Foxtel)
Industry TypePay-TV, Broadband and Telephone servicesTelecommunications
Location of the HeadquartersNorth Ryde, SydneyRobina Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
ProductsSatellite, Cable, IPTVSatellite cable, direct broadcast, television, internet access on mobile phones
LegacyPredecessor: AustarSuccessor: 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.

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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

  1. 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.
  2. They are both Australian-based companies that focus on similar services.
  3. Foxtel offers its clients Satellite, Cable, and IPTV, while Austar offers services including satellite cable, television, direct broadcast, and internet access on mobile phones.
  4. 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.
  5. The headquarters of Foxtel is located in North Ryde, Sydney. The headquarters of Austar was located in Robina Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.
  6. Foxtel succeeds Austar. Austar precedes Foxtel.
References
  1. https://cpd.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Centre_for_Policy_Development_Issue_Brief.pdf
  2. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/83503/

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By Chara Yadav

Chara Yadav holds MBA in Finance. Her goal is to simplify finance-related topics. She has worked in finance for about 25 years. She has held multiple finance and banking classes for business schools and communities. Read more at her bio page.