Foxtel broadcasts go down amidst global IT outage

Foxtel outage
Pictured: The blue screen of death
// The widespread IT outage seems to have impacted Foxtel
Brodie Fogg
Jul 19, 2024
Icon Time To Read1 min read

Has your Friday night Foxtel broadcast been interrupted? Don't worry, you're not alone. Foxtel is just one of the many companies to be caught up in today's massive tech outage. The situation is ongoing, but here's what we know so far. 

An ongoing global IT outage has hit a number of Australian services. Banks, airlines, telcos and media companies are all experiencing technical difficulties that are seemingly tied to the Microsoft Windows operating system and a third-party cybersecurity mob Crowdstrike.

The outage has impacted businesses worldwide, but here in Australia, the most obvious victims seem to be Bendigo Bank, Commonwealth Bank and Foxtel, according to Downdetector.com.au.

Heads Up

How serious is the IT outage?

It's so serious, that Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has tweeted (X'd) a promise that the Australian Government is working with the National Cyber Security Coordinator to figure out what on earth went wrong and has been quick to assure Australians that triple-zero (000) and Government services have not been impacted at this stage. 

For those concerned, The Guardian has a thorough rundown of the events as they're unfolding. It seems Microsoft is working on a resolution with help from Crowdstrike.  

So can I watch Foxtel or not?

Give it a whirl.

Reviews.org has requested comment from Foxtel but at the time of writing, there has been no response. Foxtel has, however, addressed the issue in a statement on its official website:

We are experiencing a global system issue affecting channel broadcast and ability to answer chats or calls. Our engineers are working to resolve this. Please use Foxtel Go or head to Support for resources. We apologise for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience.
Foxtel outage

While we don't have a Foxtel iQ5 box to test, we can confirm that we've been able to stream Hubbl apps Binge and Kayo without any issues amidst the outage. Live streams and linear TV broadcasts seem to have been impacted, but on-demand fare provided by Foxtel's many streaming apps has kept trucking throughout the whole ordeal.

Brodie Fogg
Written by
Brodie Fogg is the Australian editorial lead at Reviews.org. He has covered consumer tech, telecommunications, video games, streaming and entertainment for over five years at websites like WhistleOut and Finder and can be found sharing streaming recommendations at 7NEWS every month.

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