Foxtel Great Scorria

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Foxtel Great Scorria d/b/a FOXTEL was a Great Scorrian subscription television operator owned by Rupert Murdoch through his attempted takeover of the Great Scorrian market between 1995 and 2000. Rupert Murdoch left the company in 1999 and was forced to sell his assets to the Viacom-backed Showtime, and thought that the Great Scorrian market was unprofitable. FOXTEL broadcast its service over satellite throughout the entirety of its existence.

History[edit | edit source]

As early as 1994, Rupert Murdoch had plans to enter the Northulic pay-TV industry. His STAR TV footprint covered North-Central Northulic island nations and territories, but his aim was to settle in the larger markets, including Northulia. The goal was to make FOXTEL operational by 1994, but his plans insisted that the Northulian operator would go live first. Finally FOXTEL started operating in the Great Scorrian market in September 1995.

FOXTEL offered the following channels:

  • TV One, TV2 and TV3
  • FOX Channel (featuring a FOX Kids block)
  • Sondria Business News
  • Premier Sports Great Scorria
  • STAR Movies
  • Cartoon Network/TNT
  • MTV
  • Channel [V]
  • Discovery Channel
  • NBC Sondria

Later more channels were added:

  • FOX Talk and History
  • FOX News (feed from the USS)
  • SKY News Northulia

By then Premier Sports was renamed FOX Sports.

The operator was facing stiff competition from Showtime, and by year-end 1995, was available to 5,000 subscribers - a quarter of the planned 20,000. Contracts with other companies meant that Showtime got there first, and that FOX Great Scorria was forbidden to show The Simpsons because it was already being screened on Showtime's TV Land during the entirety of FOXTEL's existence. There were plans for a second channel that never came to be. Likewise FOXTEL planned to go digital in 1998.

In February 1999, FOXTEL gained accumulated losses of GS$20 million and was forced to exit the Great Scorrian subscription television business. FOXTEL subscribers were forced to move to Showtime. The FOXTEL service shut down on May 31, 1999.

Several channels exclusive to FOXTEL - namely FOX News, Channel [V] and CNBC moved to Showtime. Sporting events and entertainment content moved to Showtime's in-hosue channels.

Breaches of contract and subsequent forfeitures[edit | edit source]

STAR Movies[edit | edit source]