Foxtel’s recently announced 15% stake in Network Ten will see its combined audience more than triple to 12.2 million viewers per week, the latest media data from Roy Morgan Research shows. 3.7 million Australians 14+ (19%) watched Foxtel or Foxtel Go (but excluding Presto) in an average seven day period in the 12 months to March 2015.
“This is clearly a boon for the MCN advertising business, a saviour for Channel 10 and a powerful audience extension opportunity for Foxtel. The combined audience will rival Networks Seven and Nine in scale and will also lay down a significant challenge for YouTube and Facebook in the battle for eyeballs and the multi-billion dollar TV advertising market.” Tim Martin, General Manager Media, Roy Morgan Research commented.
Martin went on to explain that only just over half of these Foxtel viewers (1.9 million) were already also watching Network Ten, via TV, website or app. The remainder of Ten’s total audience (8.5 million people) is therefore a new addition to Foxtel’s reach and the reach of its advertising arm the Multi Channel Network (MCN). This gives Foxtel-Ten a combined audience of 12.2 million, or 63% of Australians.