Alex Hazlehurst, Cameron Daddo and Eugene Loane. Credit: Foxtel Media
Foxtel has made a decisive move into a streaming-first future, with media agencies backing the company’s sport-led strategy following its upfront in Sydney on Thursday.
The presentation, the first since DAZN took control, saw Foxtel Media position itself as a tech-enabled, sport-centric platform.
"It's a great game we play," Mark Frain, Foxtel Media's CEO, told media buyers and brands. "The rules keep shifting. The players keep morphing. The speed of the game only gets faster. It's a constant battle for attention, for engagement, for real outcomes for your business, but that's what tonight is about, how we win together."
Media buyers, attending the event, noted the absence of references to set-top boxes, linear subscriptions or traditional broadcasting.
“It really felt like Foxtel has now fully flipped into a 100% streaming company,” said Peter Stowe, head of trading at SMG.
“Not once was there a mention of set-top boxes, linear subs, or traditional broadcasting, nothing.”
Sport remained the dominant theme of the night, with Kayo’s live sport inventory presented as an anchor of Foxtel’s subscriber and advertising growth.
“Sport is woven into Australia’s cultural fabric and remains the single most powerful way for advertisers to reach audiences at scale and pace like no other,” said Daniel Cutrone, managing partner, media, at Avenue C.
Foxtel used the event to demonstrate new advertising products for Kayo, including L-Bars, Pause Ads, First Bumpers and the six-second Solus Bumper format.
“I’m a big fan of the Solus bumper ad format. They’ll be unmissable, and engagement will be massive, no one ever misses kick-off or first bounce. Well, I don’t, so that’s one guaranteed impression right there,” Stowe said.
The Kayo platform also debuted AI-powered features, including the upcoming launch of Kayo Buddy, a personalised streaming companion designed to drive deeper fan engagement and content discovery.
“They’re playing to win and they’re doing it differently, with a bold playbook of tech, innovation, lots of premium sport and strategic data partnerships,” Stowe said.
“A winning formula to maintain and attract new subscribers.”
Cutrone agreed with Stowe's sentiment.
“Foxtel and Kayo sit at the heart of this ecosystem, holding the country’s deepest roster of local premium rights and setting the benchmark for streaming sport in real time,” he said.
Foxtel’s growing focus on younger audiences was also noted by agencies, with a newly announced partnership with Livewire aimed at reaching that demographic.
Michael Cheffers, senior client director at UM, said the quality of the presentation under DAZN ownership was clear.
“Foxtel’s inaugural upfront with new owners, European sports media company DAZN, demonstrated a quality approach across its entirety,” he said.
Cheffers said the upcoming release of a study by Amplified Intelligence and Adgile would strengthen Foxtel’s streaming ad proposition.
“Foxtel’s talent roster knows what they are doing and have a rich understanding of live sports to scripted entertainment,” he said.
“There are two things I look for with Foxtel, content acquisition and how they attract younger viewers.
"To achieve this, it is the balance of quality. Foxtel’s sports coverage has always been the benchmark for Australian live sports.
"However, it is the sum of all its parts, not just sports to attract younger viewers and more advertisers' dollars. In this upfront the quality is invested in sports."
Jay Malig, national trading lead at Atomic 212°, praised the clarity of Foxtel’s message.
“I commend Foxtel’s straightforward approach in presenting their value proposition,” he said.
“Their range of high-quality content, cutting-edge ad technology and the ability to connect with audiences at scale in more meaningful ways all means better outcomes for advertisers.”
Despite the sport-heavy pitch, Foxtel still flagged a number of entertainment titles, with reality survival series Apocalypse singled out.
“The standout announcement really was Apocalypse, a new survival reality series with a unique premise that is likely to appeal to fans of The Walking Dead and Alone series,” Malig said.
Foxtel also demonstrated a push into e-commerce and shoppable TV through its partnership with allt.tv, integrating smartphone and live TV for real-time product discovery.
“This tech links smartphone apps with real-time TV content and represents the most fluid shoppable experience from live TV that I have encountered so far,” Malig said.
Sally Lawrence, executive director, media, Enigma, praised the event for its entertainment value combined with some valuable business takeaways around content strategy.
For example, the theme of ‘Enter the Game’ aligning with Foxtel’s move into gaming.
“This made sense when Foxtel announced gaming as a core pillar for them in 2026 with their announcement of their partnership with Livewire and the opening of Kayo Stadium in Roblox,” she said.
“A focus on gaming is unique amongst the major broadcasters, and it gives media planners a new way to be engaging with the Foxtel group.
“It’s an interesting way for them to embed themselves in culture and if done well, this is something they could hang their hats on.”
Lawrence also welcomed the sports coverage and its representation.
“Naturally, sport was prominent, and Foxtel did a great job of showcasing their breadth of sporting codes,” she said.
“It was also nice to see equal representation of men's and women's codes.”
Lawrence also pointed to the clear focus on Kayo and Binge.
“Foxtel Group is clearly paving the way for Binge and Kayo to be their primary brands with investment into brand refreshes, new ad formats, app updates and new content,” she said.
“Very warranted given their continued growth and success. It does make me wonder what the future of the original Foxtel brand will look like.”
On the Video Futures Collective, Lawrence noted the emphasis on industry impact.
“It was evident that their ambition is to do what is right for the industry and shift to outcome-based measurement,” she said.
“It will be interesting to see how this continues to evolve over the coming year as for it to truly succeed all the major players need to get on board.”
The move into retail media was a standout announcement for Lawrence too.
“As a media buyer, probably the most exciting announcement for the night was Foxtel's partnership with Allt TV, which sees the group move into retail media for the first time,” she said.
“Being able to serve people relevant ads in apps based on what they're watching, pushing them closer to purchase is a game changer, particularly based on the ability to prefill someone's cart as mentioned last night. Excited to see where this goes in 2026.”
Lawrence also commended Foxtel’s recognition of emerging talent in the media buying sector.
“Acknowledging the emerging talent in our industry is so important, and these younger buyers and planners deserve the recognition they got last night,” she said.
“I would love to see some more independent agencies in the mix at the 2027 upfront.”
Emma Wood, head of media partnerships, Sydney at PHD, said she was impressed with the evolving data-led capabilities of Foxtel’s offering.
“I was impressed with the new data-led opportunities that Foxtel presented, due to its ability to drive e-commerce in a TV environment using allt.tv,” said Wood.
“With up to 90% of screens viewing on a CTV, QR codes have historically been clunky when appearing on screen, and most categories have been unable to drive significant results.”
Wood said the transition to allt.tv technology will tap into consumer behaviour and second screening, maximising advertiser’s opportunity to sell to customers in a curated and intuitive way.
“This will be a real game-changer for brands,” she said.
Wood also noted the introduction of fresh creative formats across Foxtel’s streaming platforms came at the right time.
“New creative ad-formats, whilst not new to the industry but new across Kayo and Binge, are welcomed as marketers look for intelligent ways to connect with consumers, cut through clutter and align to premium content," she said.
“The most exciting announcement was the capability to share first-party data through Foxtel’s partnership with Snowflake, removing the data-sharing risk which is critical to protecting customers.”
Wood added that the upfront reflected a broader repositioning of the business.
“This was the first time Foxtel presented under new ownership, DAZN," she said.
"Foxtel have always centred around sport, but their upfronts touched on so much more than that, presenting themselves as a full ecosystem, stretching into gaming.”
Sasko Bosilkovski, marketplace director at Wavemaker, said Foxtel Group's strategic vision for Australian media was bold, built on innovation, audience-centric experiences and an unmatched content offering”.
“They are introducing new opportunities for advertisers with high-attention, non-intrusive formats like L-Bars and Pause Ads across Kayo and Binge, which will ensure brand messages are truly processed and remembered by viewers," he said.
Bosilkovski also pointed to Foxtel’s growing focus on brand-funded content, gaming partnerships and younger audiences.
“Foxtel is strategically expanding into new frontiers: gaming with Kayo Stadium on Roblox and Livewire partnerships, brand-funded storytelling via Narrativ and enhanced social media strategies to reach younger audiences," he said.
Bosilkovski also praised Foxtel's new innovations.
“Innovation extends to Kayo Buddy (an AI-powered sports companion), a Binge platform overhaul, and ground breaking impression-based TV buying," he said.
“Furthermore, their ‘Retail Plus’ offering seamlessly links content to commerce, helping driving direct sales for brands and providing clear ROI.”
“Foxtel Group really showcased a future-forward vision that is dynamic, audience-centric, and brimming with exciting possibilities for advertisers to reach audiences.”
Bosilkovski added that the future-forward approach by Foxtel directly addresses client demands for transparency, clear metrics, independent verification and personalised solutions.
"Ultimately enhancing user experience and delivering greater value to campaigns," he said.
Michael Kay, managing director at Havas Media, said this year’s event was a “tripling down” on Foxtel’s commitments with a new level of confidence.
“Compared to last year, which was very focussed on tech and measurement, this year the ‘Foxtel Formula’ came through loud and clear driven by their new ownership and especially within live sport," he said.
“This year felt like a tripling down on their commitments from 2024 in new measurement solutions, but with a supercharged confidence to keep pushing a new path of innovation and partnerships which is really exciting to see within our local media landscape.”
Kay also praised the Kayo brand refresh and platform growth.
“Kayo in particular has been revamped and continues to grow boasting viewing time +82% YoY with a refreshed brand and platform UX, embedding more ad formats particularly into live sports which creates more opportunities for us to connect our brands with audiences right into the heart of the action," he said.
On retail media and commerce, Kay also noted Foxtel’s partnership with allt.tv as a standout.
“All networks are working on their retail and commerce offering typically through data and research partnerships, but what stood out last night was Foxtel’s new partnership with tech companies like allt.tv that are focussed on an interactive second screen experience that puts the consumer first and removes the need to scan a QR code," he said.
He also flagged the gaming expansion as a key highlight.
“Finally, their exciting announcement to expand into the world of gaming with a Livewire partnership was a standout moment for me," he said.
“It brings two powerhouses of culture, gaming and sport, together to offer partnership opportunities to a major broadcaster for the first time.
“The build of a Kayo sport stadium within Roblox will bring major sporting moments into the gaming world and offer our clients partnership opportunities to reach gaming audiences like never before.”
Ken Lam, general manager, Victoria, iProspect (a dentsu company), pointed to Foxtel's strong focus on advancing total audience measurement and boosting ROI for advertisers through initiatives like their CommBank iQ partnership and the Video Futures Collective.
"Looking ahead to 2026, their continued leadership in audience measurement, through collaborations with Amplified and Adgile, will continue and reinforces the value of premium formats and high-attention environments."
Lam also noticed a difference in the first Foxtel Upfront since the DAZN takeover.
"The recent DAZN acquisition influence was clear, with sport taking centre stage, from both local and international codes, and a notable elevation of women’s sport, both in coverage and on-screen talent," he said.
"Kayo’s YouTube Shorts strategy and influencer-led content are designed to pull younger audiences into the ecosystem, meeting them where they are."
Lam added that Foxtel demonstrated a strong grasp of the pace of change.
"Which is accelerating on all fronts, from ongoing media fragmentation to rising consumer expectations," he said.
"This was evident through what I thought were their two most exciting announcements, the Livewire partnership and the allt.tv integration, an innovation that links TV content with smartphone apps like Uber Eats, enabling brands to serve real-time, actionable offers during live broadcasts.
"It’s a frictionless, second-screen experience that turns attention into instant conversion.”
Lam said it was clear from the event that the connection between brand and performance has never been more critical.
"The path from awareness to conversion, at scale, needs to be faster, so I’m looking forward to Foxtel’s scorecard this time next year and see how they’ve delivered against their promise," he said.
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