Foxtel chief executive Richard Freudenstein has admitted the pay television company's growth in cable and satellite would have been slower had it not made last week's historic decision to slash its prices and offer more content.
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Mr Freudenstein also acknowledged that the company's new on-demand BoxSets channel for pay TV and digital users is designed to be a "Netflix killer", giving people who want to binge on shows an alternative to streaming services.
He also defended the company's heavy investment in its "iQ3" at a time when some analysts are saying technology changes are making such set-top boxes increasingly irrelevant.
Foxtel halved the price of its basic cable and satellite package to $25 and unveiled BoxSets as part of the biggest revamp of its cable and satellite subscription pricing in years.
The moves were a response to increasing competition.
Nine Entertainment has forged a $100 million joint venture with Fairfax Media, owner of The Sydney Morning Herald/The Age, to provide a subscription video-on-demand service that is also designed to pre-empt US streaming giant Netflix.
Mr Freudenstein said Fairfax's joint venture with Nine [Seven West Media is in talks to join Foxtel's streaming service Presto] "just shows there's going to be more and more competition in the market".
"We've heard [Netflix] are coming but I don't think it's 100 per cent confirmed but we're planning as though they are...Sure, there's more competition than ever before. But the great thing about Foxtel is that every time there's been looming competition we've reinvented ourselves, listened to customers, driven forward...We are always going to grow."
Mr Freudenstein said he expected many consumers wanting the $25 offer could end up paying for additional Foxtel packs such as sport. "$25 makes the phone ring...our sales guys are really good at selling people up," he said.
