Seven CEO admits company is in talks over video streaming play
Tim Worner
Seven West Media CEO Tim Worner has admitted the company is in talks to enter the subscription video on demand (SVOD) market, but played down speculation the network would do a joint venture with pay-TV operator Foxtel.
Worner made the statement during today’s investor call for its full year financial results in response to a question about the announcement this morning of joint Nine/Fairfax venture with streaming service StreamCo, and a report in today’s Australian Financial Review which said the network had signed a heads of agreement with Foxtel over a potential deal.
“This is a space we need to be in,” said Worner in response to a question about the speculation and how many players the market can sustain. “SVOD as a space – it is an area Seven West need to be in and we have had a cavalcade of people come to us and talk to us about SVOD.”
Let’s hope Seven does team up with Foxtel in time for the next Olympics. That way we can have eight dedicated channels for the Olympics on Foxtel like we did with the London 2012 Games, and we won’t have to put up with Roy & HG, Yum Cha or whatever other nonsense Seven will also be screening during the Games.
A few flaws in the hbbtv product
1. No one will be able to access it, outside of the 13 people in Sydney and Melbourne who bothered to connect their new TVs to the Internet
2. Of those 13, 11 of them will use it once and realise the user experience via a TV remote sucks ass
3. Everything on free to air is utter shite. No one wants to watch it live, let alone via VOD
Channel 7 teaming with FOXTEL will be pretty much a watershed moment given the tough history between them both……It really is a time of unprecedented media dynamics……..
PS. I don’t believe it, till I see it
Worner is worth every penny isn’t he.