‘I wouldn’t be here without Binge’: Foxtel’s Daniel Monaghan all in on streaming

Former Paramount ANZ head of content Daniel Monaghan only started his new role as Foxtel Group’s executive director of entertainment content on Monday.

He has already been taking meetings with producers, digging into Foxtel ratings data about what audiences consume most.

By midweek he was on a plane to the Gold Coast, where he took part in several industry sessions at the annual AACTA Festival (The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts).

Monaghan has big shoes to fill, taking over from Wendy Moore, who stepped down from that role in 2025.

In his years at Paramount ANZ, Monagan worked on both FTA TV (Network 10 and its multi channels) and the Paramount+ streaming platform that launched during his time at the business.

Starting in the TV business when David Mott was still Network 10’s chief programming officer, Monaghan rose through the ranks to be Paramount Australia and New Zealand’s senior vice president of content and programming.

As to why he made the Foxtel Group career move, Monaghan told Mumbrella that after 14 years at 10/Paramount, he was ready for a change.

“I have considered various opportunities to expand my horizons and Foxtel came knocking and asked me if I might consider a new role. I was interested once I learnt what the job was. I had been working at Network 10 for such a long time but Foxtel excited me. I’ve always admired their commitment to Australian content – their drama slate, their team, and their unscripted shows as well.

“It was an opportunity to move into a new team and get behind Binge and Foxtel and to commission and work on new shows.”

After the initial approach, Monaghan met with Foxtel Group CEO Patrick Delany and CEO of the Foxtel Group brands Foxtel, Kayo Sports and Binge, Hilary Perchard.

Hilary Perchard, who is Foxtel Group Chief Strategy Officer as well as CEO of Kayo Sport, Foxtel and Binge

Monaghan works alongside the Foxtel channel teams, the scripted team, and the unscripted team. His boss is Hilary Perchard.

Key content commissioned during Monaghan’s time at Paramount included streaming success stories Last King of the Cross and Fake. He was across all Network 10 programming including their portfolio of major reality brands from I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here and Survivor Australia to MasterChef Australia. Monaghan commissioned The Cheap Seats, Taskmaster Australia and oversaw the return of Big Brother to the network.

The Dazn ownership question

The Foxtel Group had recently been sold to Dazn (“Da zone”) when Monaghan accepted the role.

When asked if his appointment signals a change of direction into maybe more unscripted at the Foxtel Group, Monaghan noted it already had some strong unscripted programming including Selling Houses Australia, The Great Australian Bake Off, the versions of the Housewives franchise.

“Foxtel also has an incredibly strong history in the drama space and those two things combined is what I came across for,” said Monaghan. “My appointment here is to continue their ambition to commission shows that will grow their platforms and expand on the great offerings they already have.”

The group will continue with the Binge general entertainment streaming platform despite speculation it might be surplus to what sports broadcaster Dazn wanted.

“Dazn and Foxtel have publicly shared their commitment to Binge and I wouldn’t have come across if it wasn’t going to be here,” said Monaghan. “That is the reason I’m here and the reason I’m working with this team. Binge continues to perform strongly.

“The HBO content went away and now it’s time to find new acquisitions, and make new commissions that drive the growth in the months and years ahead.

“We want to be commissioning for both the audience that’s already on the platforms but also to attract new subscribers and those who churn in and out of services as they see fit. We want to grab onto them and hold them for as long as possible.”

Monaghan noted the Binge team will also be targeting Kayo Sports subscribers to also subscribe to Binge. “It’s a great cross-platform opportunity.”

The streaming platforms won’t ignore the older, yet still strong Foxtel subscriber base.

“Foxtel subscriber numbers have been really stable in recent times and they love shows like Selling Houses and Love It or List It. We don’t want to walk away or ignore those people.

“We want to commission for Binge to get growth. Streaming is the future. But things that work on both platforms, as I’ve done in my former life, are incredibly important.”

Foxtel to continue advertiser integration push

An integration vehicle: The crew at Selling Houses Australia

One of the essentials for programmers on FTA these days is ensuring they maximise any integration opportunities, particularly in unscripted.

Monaghan confirmed that is something he will be pursuing.

“Integration on the Foxtel channels including Binge is also incredibly important. You need to find the money where you can and if you can seamlessly integrate [clients] into any show that helps everyone.”

Audiences seem to be forgiving when it comes to brand recognition on their favourite shows. The Block and Selling Houses are integration case studies on how to do it well.

Monaghan: “Traditionally it’s always easier to do that kind of integration in unscripted programming. Property shows are definitely easier to integrate into but you’ll find that streaming services will be doing more and more in unscripted shows. You have to be mindful not to overdo it of course which can then distract from the program.

About the plan from here on, Monaghan feels there are definitely opportunities to explore.

“I’ve had a lot of partnerships with production companies. I’ve got a good contact list of people who have great ideas in the unscripted space and in the scripted space. Foxtel already has that too, but it’s always nice to have a fresh set of eyes and maybe push in a different direction.”

Making the budgets go further

The experience that the new Foxtel arrival had at Network 10 means Monaghan is well schooled in making major formats and tentpole dramas look like they had big budgets.

“Agility and being nimble has been a skill that I have honed in on and I think that will serve anyone well in the media world, where you have to be a little bit more strategic, a lot more agile and think of new ways to get the best for the most efficient model,” he said.

“We’re in the business of fighting for eyeballs and you need to be able to do that in a cost-efficient way but you also need your show to be the one that everyone chooses so it’s certainly a difficult process but I feel I have a good training ground in that.”

In just his first week Monaghan has been busy. “I’ve received a couple of pitches already and had a couple of meetings with people.

“We will work with the best producers and I know who has some good projects on the boil. I’m sure other parties know who has some good ones on the boil too, but we’ll try and get to them first!”