Foxtel Group have signed a new multi-year contract to broadcast F1 in Australia.
Under their current contract, Foxtel broadcasts all Practice, Qualifying and race sessions live whilst also sharing live rights with Network 10 for the Australian Grand Prix, with the latter broadcaster only airing highlights of all other races.
This new extended deal will therefore see Foxtel remain the home of ‘comprehensive, high-quality Formula 1 coverage in Australia,’ with races broadcast in 4K UHD along with live feeds and extra content.
Foxtel will also integrate the F1TV app into its’ set-top boxes in an initiative which will be the first to take place within Australia, with the app confirmed as being ‘free of charge’ from next season with various live feeds during races including live timing data and session highlights.
Additional entertainment based shows including technical analysis and paddock live plus various F1 themed documentaries and short-form features will also be made available alongside archived races in full coverage or highlights.
Foxtel Group CEO, Patrick Delany spoke of this new deal seeing the broadcaster take their ‘coverage to the next level for fans’, alongside live coverage of Supercars and MotoGP with their subscription service – Kayo streaming coverage of F1.
Delany went on to highlight the growth of F1’s popularity in Australia as he continued: “Australian fans are embracing F1 like never before with F1 delivering the fastest audience growth of any sport across Foxtel and Kayo.”
Kayo meanwhile has served as a spearhead in engaging young audience demographics with F1 which has delighted Delany and Foxtel with over 200k fans streaming F1 coverage on Kayo.
Delany also spoke of the overall impact of the new deal for Foxtel as a whole as he concluded: “It’s a great story for Foxtel too. Every race in 4K UHD is incredible, and integrating the F1TV app onto Foxtel set top boxes offers subscribers even more access to all the F1 action they love, all in one place.”
F1 Director of Media Rights and Content Creation, Ian Holmes meanwhile is “delighted” to extend Foxtel’s contract as the main F1 broadcaster in Australia, complete with the addition of F1TV app for subscribers.
Holmes also echoed Delany’s joy about improved attraction of young fans as he added: “Fans are becoming increasingly engaged with F1 and such audience growth, in particular among younger fans, shows that the appetite for Formula 1 in Australia is huge.
“This is not just a testament to the thrilling nature of Formula 1 as a sport, but also a result of the Foxtel Group’s efforts in delivering that excitement to viewers.”
This announcement comes just two weeks before F1 heads to Melbourne, Australia, for the first proper Australian Grand Prix since 2019, having previously headed Down Under in 2020 only for the weekend to be cancelled on the morning of Friday Practice due to Coronavirus pandemic.
Leave a Reply