Subscription television service Fetch TV in Australia, has fired off a letter to the competition regulator over the impending loss of international news channel CNN from its platform to commercial rival Foxtel.
Rupert Murdoch-controlled pay tv company Foxtel secured the exclusive rights to broadcast CNN for subscribers as part of a multimillion-dollar deal struck with US entertainment giant WarnerMedia last year, reported The Sydney Morning Herald.
CNN, which is owned by WarnerMedia, has been packaged as an exclusive Foxtel channel which means it will be unavailable on any other platform in Australia from April 22.
That exclusivity has concerned Fetch TV because it claims it limits the variety of news available to the Australian public. Fetch TV, which works with Optus, iiNet Group, and Vocus to provide its service, has more than 700,000 subscribers. It informed users of the impending change late last week after unsuccessful talks with Foxtel to allow the channel to be public.
“The changes are the result of a recent exclusive carriage agreement entered into between Foxtel and the channel’s owner, Warner Media,” a Facebook post stated.
“We are particularly disappointed at the loss of CNN. International News provided an important public benefit, and Fetch is proud to provide access to such a diverse suite of news channels as part of the Knowledge Pack (for only $6 per month). The exclusivity arrangement for CNN in Australia is inconsistent with global norms and will result in reduced access and affordability.”
The Facebook post asks subscribers to write to the competition regulator about their concerns. However, industry sources familiar with Fetch TV’s concerns said it had also fired off a letter to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) outlining its concerns over the exclusivity agreement. The company is arguing that Foxtel, which is majority owned by News Corp, is hindering media diversity by keeping CNN restricted to Foxtel customers. Fetch declined to comment further on the matter. The ACCC declined to comment.
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