Why staying in touch is so important
LIVE and on-demand access to breaking news is critical to Australians who want to keep informed about local and international events.
Mobile phones are the most popular way Australians access news content in the modern age, and soaring numbers of viewers are also turning to streaming services to access content across entertainment and sport — when and where it suits them.
The newly-launched Foxtel-owned aggregation news platform Flash is the latest streaming service to hit the Australian market, offering viewers live and on-demand news content from across the country and worldwide.
Flash chief executive Julian Ogrin said the new service available across mobile and big screen devices will be “mobile-led” and change the way many people access news.
“Whether it’s an iOS phone, Android, tablet or whether you are commuting to work or wherever you are and want to tap into news, the mobile device will probably take precedence,” he said.
“We see over 80 per cent of Australians are consuming news regularly since the pandemic, and 70 per cent are streaming in general.”
Flash has been in the making for more than a year and will be available on phones, tablets, PCs and TVs, integrating some of the world’s most respected sources including BBC World News, FOX News Channel, Bloomberg TV, CNN International, France 24, Al Jazeera and Sky News Australia. Research from the University of Canberra released in June found mobile phones are used by 63 per cent of Australians to get their daily news and information.
In addition to this 45 per cent of consumers say their mobile is their main device they use to get news.
The digital news report also found a majority of news consumers – 73 per cent – believed news should reflect a range of views so they could make up their own mind on various issues, while 71 per cent think all sides of an issue should be given equal airtime.
Flash executive director Kate De Brito said the arrival of the news streaming service will give consumers the “control” to watch news how they want, when they want and where they want.
“It has the ability to make it your own environment, to do what you want at a time that is convenient for you. Until now we haven’t had that service available for news,” she said. “When it comes to broadcast news, it can be a bit of a hunt to find the news you want, you can’t always find it easily.
“With streaming, you can do it any way, it doesn’t matter if you go to your grandmother’s place or if you are in a hotel for a night, it doesn’t matter if you are in your bedroom or downstairs making dinner, you can watch your shows when you want.”
At Foxtel’s strategy day recently, the company’s chief executive officer Patrick Delany said the Flash is its third streaming service rolled out in as many years.
“These new streaming products are driving rapid growth in subscribers and revenue as we diversify our portfolio of entertainment brands and reinvent the Foxtel Group as Australia’s most dynamic streaming company,” he said.
“The number of Australian households with a streaming service is forecast to grow by almost 20 per cent in the next four years.”
The digital news report also found that in the past year, trust in news in Australia has increased to 43 per cent (up 5 per cent) and is close to the global average at 44 per cent.
The uptake in Australians streaming content is also continuing to soar as more players continue to enter the market.
The most popular streaming services include Netflix, Kayo, Binge, Foxtel Go, Stan, Amazon Prime, Disney Plus and Paramount Plus.
Flash will cost $8 a month and is available now.