Foxtel Digital‘s executive director of content, development and delivery, Patrick Delany, is confident that the operator will see strong growth in 2005. The satellite and cable pay-TV operator, which launched digital services in the first half of 2004, ended the year with just under 600,000 digital subscribers, cementing its position on the Australian digital television landscape.

In terms of expectations for 2005, Delany told Satellite Today, “In the next 12 months, what I expect to happen is that growth rates will continue and now we have over 500,000 advocates/households around Australia it should accelerate. When people think of digital television in Australia, they mostly think of Foxtel. That is a good place to be. We have certainly answered the competitive call of FTA (Free-To-Air) and I think everything that we hoped in terms of growth, increase in ARPU and reduction in churn has certainly happened.”

An exclusive in-depth interview with Patrick Delany can be found in the Feb. 7 issue of Satellite News. For more information about subscribing to Access Intelligence’s satellite newsletters, visit our Web site at https://www.satellitetoday.com