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Pocketbook Backs Down From Subscriber Claims As Foxtel Asserts Itself As Number One

Pocketbook Backs Down From Subscriber Claims As Foxtel Asserts Itself As Number OnePocketbook had claimed that Netflix had edged ahead of Foxtel with a 39 per cent market share by subscribers in April, with Foxtel on 38 per cent, however Foxtel subsequently staked its claim as the leading service in the Australian market.

As reported by Fairfax Media, Foxtel group director of corporate affairs Bruce Meagher said Foxtel had “around 2.8 million” subscribers at the end of March.  

“No other player has anything like that number of customers,” Fairfax reported Meagher as stating.

Pocketbook has since amended its blog post containing the data.

“We have adjusted our claims that Netflix is the leading subscription service today compared to Foxtel upon learning that business customers contribute to only 1% of their 2.8m customer base,” Pocketbook stated via its blog.

“We believe it is unlikely that Netflix has already achieved a total user base of 2m+ in Australia. However, given the nature of our sample, we believe our research is an accurate lead indicator for the impending direction of Australian consumer behaviour at large.”

The post additionally acknowledges that there is a “skew towards a digitally savvy audience” in Pocketbook’s data.

With the arrival of Netflix in the Australian market this year, the SVOD market has become increasingly competitive, with a number of players staking their claim to market share.

Presto TV, Foxtel and Seven West Media’s SVOD service, and Stan, a Nine Entertainment Co. and Fairfax Media joint venture, also respectively launched earlier in the year.

It has additionally been announced today that Quickflix and Foxtel have entered an agreement by which Foxtel’s Presto movie and TV SVOD service will be distributed by Quickflix to its customer base.

Quickflix will become an affiliate reseller for Presto, advising that the timing of the launch of Presto within Quickflix will coincide with a major upgrade of its user interface across all major device platforms over the coming months.