Patrick Delany, chief executive of the Foxtel Group, and also now Hubbl, has had a busy few days.
Last Wednesday night he was spruiking the benefits of Hubbl and its impact on the future of TV to VIP guests. That Hubbl launch was held on the banks of Sydney Harbour and included a live demo of the new streaming management device.
This week on Wednesday he will be one of the hosts of an NRL welcome to Las Vegas event in the gambling mecca in the Nevada desert.
In between he’s made two trips to Canberra. The first to address a Senate committee considering proposed prominence laws.
The second was for the Foxtel Group Annual Showcase event at Parliament House on Monday night.
The crowd at the Parliament House Showcase included a group of key members of parliament headed by the prime minister Anthony Albanese.
Also on hand were key Foxtel Group executives, plus Foxtel, Binge and Kayo Sports talent.
Entertaining the guests was Meg Washington. The singer/songwriter is working on adapting the Paul Kelly song How to Make Gravy. The project has been commissioned by the Foxtel Group for Binge.
See also: Hubbl: The CEO interview – Patrick Delany on why you need this streaming device
Patrick Delany’s Foxtel Facts
• 10 million Australians choose to watch the Foxtel Group every month
• We now have a product in 1 in 2 Australian homes
• We employ more than 1,500 highly skilled Australians and indirectly employ 7,500 more
• We spend more than $1 billion in Australia every year
• We spend millions producing 100,000 hours of sport
During his short presentation, Delany also echoed comments he made about Hubbl at the Sydney launch:
“This technology will fundamentally change the TV and streaming experience for Australians.
“[Hubbl will] fuse live and paid streaming apps, channels and the internet into one single experience.
He also returned to comments made to the Senate Committee last Friday: “We are concerned about how some wish to change the Prominence Bill currently before parliament which could strip choice and user experience away from Australians.
“We will continue to advocate for Australians’ right to control their TVs – the TVs they own.
“Because revolutionising how Australians consume content is in our DNA. And that’s why we’re fighting for changes to the anti-siphoning regime.
“The proposed changes don’t account for modern technology and viewing trends.
“We believe in the right of Australians to watch truly iconic sporting events for free.
However, we take a more nuanced approach. We believe “free access” should no longer be equated to a free-to-air broadcast license.
“Events of national importance should be made available live, free and on a national basis, no matter the platform. When more than 90% of Australians have access to the NBN, Australians should be able to choose how they watch the sports they love.”
See also: Hubbl already gives FTA prominence: Patrick Delany
Other speakers included parliamentarian David Coleman who in a former life was the key executive behind the launch of Stan.
PM Anthony Albanese with Foxtel Group’s Patrick Delany and Siobhan McKenna (left) at Parliament House
Foxtel Group Showcase who’s who
Key Ministers and Politicians
Anthony Albanese
Anika Wells
Tony Burke
Bill Shorten
Susan Templeman
David Coleman
Paul Fletcher
Karen Grogan
Fox Sports’ Catherine Cox, Sarah Jones, Hannah Hollis, Isa Guha and Bianca Chatfield
CEOs
Patrick Delany (CEO Foxtel Group and Hubbl)
Siobhan McKenna (Chair Foxtel Group)
Andrew Dillon (AFL CEO)
Nick Hockley (Cricket Australia CEO)
Stacey West (Netball Interim CEO)
Michael Brooks (Warner Bros)
Chris Taylor (NBCUniversal)
Jodi Matterson (Made Up Stories)
Arts Minister Tony Burke
Foxtel Group executives
Rebecca McCloy
Amanda Laing
Alison Hurbert-Burns
Julian Ogrin
Les Wigan
Lynette Ireland
Dani Simpson
Director NickWaterman (left) with Meg Washington, Amanda Laing, Alison Hurbert-Burns and Michael Brookes
Actors
Matt Day
Danielle McDonald
Brooke Satchwell
Tina Bursill
Sara Wiseman
Meg Washington performing
Music/Director
Meg Washington
Nick Waterman
Sports Minister Anika Wells
Sport
Sarah Jones
Cooper Cronk
Mal Maninga
Mark Skaife
Nathan Buckley
Jonathan Brown
Eddie Betts
Chloe Molloy
Cath Cox
Bianca Chatfield
Hannah Hollis
Isa Guha
Ricky Stewart
Callum Mills (AFL player)
Jo Weston (Netball player)
Corey Horsburgh (NRL player)
Courtney Bruce (Netball player)