I'd noticed that watching linear TV in this way was running into more and more buffering issues (i.e., the spinning wheel of death) before it would finally launch, until one day a few weeks ago, it just failed to launch altogether.
What made this more perplexing was the fact that 1) I could still watch VOD Foxtel Now this way - it was only the live/linear programs that encountered the buffering issue, and 2) other OTT services such as 9 Now, 7 Plus, iView etc all did not have this problem as I could live stream their linear content without any issues.
So I messaged Foxtel Help on Twitter. After 2 days (!) they got back to me, suggesting all the usual measures - clearing the cache, reinstalling Chrome, logging out and back in again, with no positive outcomes.
So instead, I set about trying to find a better solution. And of course, where else does the informal media agent go to find workaround solutions, but to the fan forums of course. A couple of Google searches later, and I'd found this page, with this comment:
https://community.foxtel.com.au/t5/Foxtel-Now/Foxtel-now-live-tv-not-working-in-google-chrome/td-p/226196
That lead me to this page, where I found out how to change the server that the clock on my PC was syncing to:
https://www.windowscentral.com/how-manage-time-servers-windows-10
And guess what? It worked! Solved all by myself (with some help from the forum community). Since then, I've not had any issues with getting linear Foxtel Now to launch when watching on PC. It suggests to me that Foxtel Help doesn't know everything about how its technology works, and that more importantly, the collective power and efficiency of the informal media/produsers can often be greater than 'formal' channel.
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On another matter, this news item piqued my interest the other day:
https://mumbrella.com.au/telstra-to-stream-football-federation-of-australia-games-in-mobile-deal-516713
Telstra now own or have the digital rights to all of the major football (and netball) codes.
A couple of other interesting points from the release: 1) It would seem to be something of a counter-attack by Telstra on the soccer front, after Optus recently re-secured the EPL rights. 2) Much like Optus, the move seems to be part of the telco's "transformation towards becoming a content platform."
Again, an indicator of the centrality of sports rights to business models, whether old or new, and how those sports rights are being acquired by non-traditional broadcasters in order to gain a subscriber base/value proposition.
