Foxtel loses fourth marketer in eight months

Josh McDonnell
By Josh McDonnell | 25 June 2019
 

Foxtel group director, marketing, John Casey has exited the pay-TV business after less than three months in the role.

A spokesperson for Foxtel confirmed Casey's departure for personal reasons.

Casey joined the business in March this year, moving across from a similar role at V8 SUpercars. Prior to this he was CMO at Vodafone and marketing manager for the NBN.

Casey joins a growing list of marketing personnel to exit Foxtel over the past eight months, with long-time general manager of advertising sales and brand partnerships Andrew Mulready departing in March.

Foxtel's head of sport marketing Adam Ballesty also left the business earlier this year, while the company's CMO Andy Lark stepped down in October last year.

Foxtel has appointed Arianna Saita as interim group director of marketing reporting to Foxtel’s chief sales and marketing officer, Kieren Cooney.

Saita joined Foxtel earlier in 2019 from her prior role as senior VP of marketing for Sky Germany and she was previously the lead of brand marketing in Sky Italia.

“John has made a significant contribution at Foxtel during the time he has been here. We’re sorry to see him go but we understand the difficult decision he has made and thank him for all of his efforts," Cooney says.

“We’re incredibly very fortunate to have Arianna working with us at Foxtel. She is a senior marketing executive with significant international experience and we are thrilled to appoint her to this interim position. Arianna has already made a huge difference at Foxtel with her extensive experience in media and entertainment.”

Arianna SaitaFoxtel's Arianna Saita

Over the past several months Saita has been in Australia to work with Foxtel’s sales and marketing team on a series of strategic projects to continue "strengthening Foxtel’s overall marketing and brand".

Foxtel and its sales house MCN have undergone restructuring over the past 12-months, as News Corp inject funds. The two are also exploring new advertising opportunities, such as six-second ads.

Sources say significant changes are ahead as Foxtel repositions itself in market against streaming players including Netflix, Stan and Amazon.

News Corp most recently funneled a further $300 million into Foxtel to help ease the company's debts, while the business has also indicated that it will increase subscription fees and cut sport costs.

Foxtel has reported early success with its sports streaming platform Kayo, with speculation mounting that Foxtel will look to do the same with its entertainment offering.

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