Nine Entertainment management, via one of their own publications, has admitted that they are open to selling down part of their ownership in streaming service Stan.

The news comes as Foxtel CEO Patrick Delany admitted at a Singapore Conference this month that HBO, the premium US network behind hit shows such as Succession and Euphoria is most likely to launch in Australia in the future and it’s this sort of move that does not bode well for Stan as they are competing for the same content as Foxtel who have a strong hold on sport content in Australia.

The chances of Nine Entertainment attracting a mainstream content investor, is looking very slim with content providers such as HBO preferring to launch directly with current Stan providers having the same option when content contracts come up for renewal.

ChannelNews understands that Nine Management are concerned about future content deals, and this has prompted them to seek out an international content provider as a potential equity partner who they are pitching claiming that they avoid set up and marketing costs by doing a deal with Stan.

Delany said he is not concerned if Warners Bros Discovery, the owner of HBO Max, launches locally because he has a stranglehold on sport and strong movie deals with several other providers.

The long-term scenario is that Stan will struggle to survive with Nine Now becoming their core content streaming or IP platform in the future which is similar to what Seven West Media are doing with the Seven + service.

The Foxtel brand could also disappear with a brand-new name and streaming service, which involves content being delivered via a puck or a TV or over an IP stream to a device being rolled out next year.

The streaming apps Binge and Kayo will be merged into one entity and this will give the owners of Foxtel News Corp a strong position in the market as they have the lion’s share of the sports coverage spanning cricket, NRL, AFL, Motor sports including Formula One and Super Cars and these are events that Australians want to watch week out week in during both summer and winter.

While Nine Entertainment currently has both Tennis and the struggling Rugby Union the loss of Tennis could be a big blow.

Currently Stan owners are in advanced talks with Tennis Australia in an effort to hold onto the deal which one other overseas network also looking at the rights.

Nine Media publications claim that Tennis Australia is looking for $100M with Nine believed to have offered $85M last month. ChannelNews understands that Seven Media also wants to get the Tennis back on their network after their disastrous fall out with Cricket Australia a situation that is currently before the courts.

Consumer research by Deloitte, released over the weekend highlighted that the subscription entertainment services market is strong in Australia, and this does not bode well for Stan long term as overseas content providers are going to prefer to come in direct than via a current local provider.

It appears that if the content is good and attractive consumers will subscribe.

Another issue facing Stan is churn with providers now delivering content weekly.

Streamers such as Stan and Binge are now battling to hold onto consumers who come in for a popular show and then move to another service if the content series has ended. Shortly Stan will stream Yellowstone.

As of January 2, 2022, 39 episodes of Yellowstone have aired, concluding in a fourth season.

The series was then renewed for a fifth season that will be split into two installments of seven episodes each.

The fifth season is scheduled to premiere on November 13, 2022.

When this is over Stan is expected to lose the customers who came in for the series.

Dion Hershan, the head of Australian equities at Yarra Capital Management, said that Stan had “made enormous progress” since its launch and had “frankly defied the sceptics at almost every juncture.”

Other observers believe that the future is not looking as good as the past for Stan and that the cost of content and the loss of content to international organizations coming into the market are a problem for the network.

“[Stan] has been written off on multiple occasions. As it stands today, we’ve always taken the view that subscription television is not a winner take all market. Many households will want a second or third provider,” Hershan said.