Austar

Austar Communications
Company typePublic
ASX: AUN
IndustryTelecommunications
Predecessor
  • Community Entertainment Television (CETV)
  • East Coast Television (ECTV)
Founded1995; 29 years ago (1995)[1]
Defunct24 May 2012; 12 years ago (2012-05-24)
SuccessorFoxtel
Headquarters,
Australia
Key people
  • John Porter, CEO
  • Mike Fries, chairman
Products
Websiteaustar.com.au

Austar was an Australian telecommunications company founded in 1995 as Community Entertainment Television (CETV). Its main business activity was subscription television. It was also involved with internet access and mobile phones.[1][2]

Austar's television subscriber base grew to 747,148 (on 30 June 2010), making it the largest subscription television operator in urban and rural Australia.[3] Austar provided subscription television services to 2.4 million homes, a third of all homes in Australia, primarily using digital satellite technology. Austar also operated a digital cable network in Darwin.

Foxtel acquired Austar in 2012.[4] Since the acquisition, Foxtel has progressively merged all operations into the national system. Starting mid- to late 2013, Foxtel transitioned all accounts to Foxtel and removed the MyStar-related online services, which was the last step in the merge. In November 2013, the Foxtel IQ units were made available with satellite connections for those who wished to replace their MyStar units. The current Foxtel moniker took over all Austar branding in 2014, completing the transition. Austar provided services to Sega Channel in Australia in partnership with Namco Bandai Partners, a joint venture between Sega, Ozisoft, and Foxtel.[citation needed]

  1. ^ a b Brewster, Deborah (3 November 1997). "Pay TV Goes Bush". The Australian. p. 40.
  2. ^ Lipari, Kathy (10 September 1996). "Pay-TV – a new Austar is born". Daily Telegraph. Sydney. p. 23.
  3. ^ Andrew (10 January 2011). "Difference Between Foxtel and Austar". Difference Between. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  4. ^ Kermond, Clare (25 May 2012). "Foxtel-Austar merger finalised". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 23 April 2021. Retrieved 15 June 2019.