Foxtel near Disney ESPN deal - paper

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Foxtel near Disney ESPN deal - paper

Wednesday July 10, 5:29 AM (Australian Time!)

SYDNEY, July 10 (Reuters) - Australian pay television operator Foxtel was close to striking a deal to run Walt Disney Co's ESPN sports channel from November, the Australian Financial Review reported on Wednesday.

However, it said the move was likely to lead to a backlash from rival media players, including newspaper group John Fairfax Holdings Ltd and the Seven Network , which had previously been told there was no room for new channels.

In an unsourced report, the paper said Foxtel was likely to argue the deal showed it could strike viable third party agreements.

Foxtel, which is 50 percent owned by telco Telstra Corp Ltd and a quarter owned by Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd and News Corp Ltd , is currently trying to get a content sharing agreement with rival Optus past regulatory authorities.

 

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Australia's Foxtel Close to Signing Deal With Walt Disney's Espn

Australia's Foxtel Close to Signing Deal With Walt Disney's ESPN

Wednesday July 10, 8:27 AM (Australian Time!)

SYDNEY, July 10 Asia Pulse - Foxtel is close to striking a deal with Walt Disney Co's ESPN that will see the 24-hour sports channel run on the pay-TV group's analog platform, The Australian Financial Review reports.
But the move is likely to lead to a backlash from rival media players, including newspaper publisher John Fairfax Holdings Ltd and Kerry Stokes's Seven Network Ltd, which have been previously told that there was no room for new channels on Foxtel.

Foxtel is likely to argue that an ESPN deal proves it can strike viable agreements with third-party content providers.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is now deliberating on the submissions from Optus and Foxtel on a pay TV programming deal, before consulting with other interested parties.