Foxtel’s move to support viewer’s desire to binge-watch great drama is one that should be (but won’t be) echoed by the free-to-air networks. Such a great idea, and just in time for the summer hiatus for a lot of shows, filling a void. From the press release:
Foxtel today announced Foxtel BoxSets, a new channel dedicated to offering subscribers live and Anytime access to some of the most popular programming available from the subscription service.
The move follows the popularity of Foxtel’s increasing range of Complete Seasons available on-demand earlier this year, and dramatically increases the amount of catch up programming available to customers. Foxtel BoxSets will launch on 3 November 2014 and will be available in the Foxtel Drama pack.
Foxtel CEO Richard Freudenstein announced the BoxSets Channel at today’s ASTRA conference as part of a series of transformative announcements that dramatically increase the value of a Foxtel subscription. “Binge watching is enormously popular and the BoxSets channel is an exciting initiative that will let our customers binge to their heart’s content on their favourite shows. The service will offer past series of the most popular, high-quality scripted TV series in full and will be the perfect way to catch up on recent series or revisit classic favourites,” said Mr Freudenstein.
Foxtel BoxSets will come to channel 116 and will include complete series of library drama and complete past seasons of returning drama series on a regularly updating basis. Initial titles that will be available at or shortly after launch include:
Available live and in Anytime:
* Game of Thrones – Seasons 1-4
* The Sopranos – Seasons 1-6
* Big Love – Seasons 1-5
* The Newsroom – Seasons 1-2
* Rome – Seasons 1-2
* Band of Brothers
* Entourage – Seasons 1-8
* Wentworth – Seasons 1-2Available in Anytime (On-Demand):
* Getting On
* Looking – Season 1
* Girls – Seasons 1-3
* Angels in AmericaBoxSets can be viewed live, or in Anytime through Foxtel Go or with an internet connected iQ box. For customers without an internet connected iQ box, Foxtel BoxSets will feature continuous broadcast of popular drama series that can be recorded to a Foxtel iQ set top box and played back at their convenience.