Australia’s Foxtel Group hit with job cuts following DAZN acquisition

Australia’s Foxtel Group, recently acquired by global sports streaming platform DAZN for US$2.17bn, has confirmed it is culling staff as the merger takes shape.

Patrick Delany

Foxtel would not be drawn on specific numbers or which areas of the business are being affected, but sources close to the company suggest around 100 staff have been affected, with a large portion coming from the division that services Foxtel’s OTT Hubbl business.

A Foxtel Group spokesperson confirmed the job cuts to C21 stating: “This week our teams have had the difficult task of speaking with a number of highly skilled and highly valued people that will leave the Foxtel Group. We are grateful to every team member that has helped us grow the business and put us in the position of strength we are in today.”

The spokesperson added: “Our transformation is not new. We have been focused on efficiency for almost a decade which has seen us successfully transform our business from being a single product pay TV operator to a modern Australian leader in streaming.”

Speculation emerged last week that Foxtel’s heavily invested and marketed screen app aggregation platform, which launched one year ago, was under review and may be divested under new ownership.

The Foxtel Group would not be drawn on detail over the industry speculation but told C21: “We are maintaining Hubbl, and customer feedback about the product has been very positive.”

The Foxtel spokesperson said: “Naturally, having made a significant marketing investment to build consumer awareness and establish a market position in its first year, we are now looking at how best to maintain Hubbl as a more mature business within the Foxtel Group portfolio of products.”

The latest round of job cuts hits an already consolidated media group, which shed a number of key senior executives throughout 2024 and implemented an operational restructure from September last year.

The finalisation of the A$3.4bn takeover of Foxtel by DAZN in April had sparked unrest from employees and industry at a time in the Australian market when original drama commissioning and production development has dropped.

At the time of the takeover, Foxtel and DAZN management stated that it would be business-as-usual for the Australian asset, which would see Foxtel continue to operate as a standalone business unit with the brands of Foxtel, Kayo Sports, Binge and Hubbl to be retained.

Foxtel chief executive Patrick Delany said at the time: “DAZNs ownership allows the Foxtel Group to remain an Australian-based business, with an Australian team and the sport, drama and entertainment that Australians love. As part of DAZN, we now benefit from their global scale, their leading technology platform and their track record in innovation that will allow us to more effectively compete with the global streaming giants.”