Foxtel Group has announced some major leadership changes, headlined by Peter O’Connell taking on the role of CEO as Patrick Delany takes on a global position with parent company, DAZN.
O’Connell, an independent director of Foxtel Group since its acquisition by DAZN in 2025, takes up the position immediately. He will report to Delany, who remains Foxtel Group chairman, and the company’s local board.
The appointment confirms reports published last week that Delany would relocate to London and O’Connell was expected to replace him as Foxtel CEO.
Delany will move to London before the end of the year after being appointed DAZN Group chief operating officer. He will report to DAZN Group CEO Shay Segev and oversee global operations, including marketing, content, sports rights, revenue, subscriber growth and production.
Mark Frain has also been promoted from CEO of DAZN Media+ to the newly created role of CEO, Streaming and Advertising. His remit will cover DAZN Media+ and the Kayo Sports and BINGE subscription businesses.
O’Connell is chairman of ASX-listed telecommunications company Superloop and automotive group Autosports. He previously co-founded telecommunications company Amaysim in 2010 and served as its CEO and chairman.
The former commercial lawyer was also a partner at MinterEllison and Gilbert + Tobin. More recently, he advised Foxtel Group during negotiations for its latest NRL rights agreement, which extended Foxtel and Kayo Sports’ partnership with the league until the end of the 2034 season.
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Delany said O’Connell would provide stability while pursuing further growth opportunities.
“Peter has agreed to take on the role of CEO of the Australian business, where he will support me while guiding the leadership team and providing stability and continuity, as well as a renewed focus on new revenue-generating opportunities.
“Peter has wide corporate experience as a CEO, successful Founder and Chair and has been a great influence on our business since joining the Australian board last year. He brings a depth of experience and knowledge in advancing consumer businesses and will be a great leader and mentor for senior leaders across our business,” Delany said.
O’Connell said Foxtel was entering the transition from a position of financial strength.
“The Foxtel Group is positioned well for future growth and is in a really strong financial position with real momentum on earnings and subs growth. After being on the Board for the past year I have had a unique opportunity to get across the company’s operations and am looking forward to working closely with Patrick as chairman and Mark in his new role driving the next era of Foxtel’s growth and further building on the strong relationship with our partner sports, distributors and producers. A clear focus will be guiding our leadership team through a new phase while also seeking new organic and inorganic growth opportunities.”
Frain’s expanded position brings Foxtel Group’s streaming services and advertising operation under one executive.
The promotion comes less than two weeks after Foxtel Media was rebranded as DAZN Media+, bringing the Australian advertising business more closely under its global parent company.
The rebrand covers the business representing the advertising interests of Kayo Sports, BINGE, Foxtel and Foxtel Go. At its 2027 upfronts, DAZN Media+ outlined a broader commercial offer spanning first-party audience data, cross-media measurement, AI-powered trading and in-stadium advertising.
Its plans include the Sports Audience Graph, built using data from six million sports fans, and an independent measurement partnership with AudienceProject covering streaming and linear television. DAZN Media+ also plans to introduce an AI-powered sales agent and sell in-stadium advertising inventory through its partnership with SureVision.
Delany said Frain had demonstrated an ability to develop new products and revenue streams during more than 20 years with the company.
“Mark has been an exceptional leader for our organisation and has done an exceptional job in not only continuing to build the commercial side of DAZN Media+ but has also shown great flair and a natural instinct for disruption in the way he has evolved the business and the product mix to generate more revenue streams. It is an important role and one that reflects the faith we have in Mark’s leadership ability, his knowledge of the Australian media market, and his ability to drive strong commercial outcomes.
“Mark really knows sport. He knows entertainment, and he knows the shows that drive audiences and drive advertising. He has been prepared to continually push into new ground, and he will bring new energy to driving the streaming offering and numbers to new heights.”
Frain said his immediate priorities would include growing Kayo Sports and BINGE while expanding DAZN Media+ following the announcements made at the upfronts.
“Having been with the company for 20 years and as CEO of DAZN Media+ (formerly Foxtel Media) for 20 years, I am very familiar with the streaming side of the business and how important our offering is for both streaming customers and advertisers. I am really excited by the opportunity I now have to drive further growth in Kayo SPORTS and BINGE, as well as guiding the expansion and enhancement of DAZN Media+ that we announced at our recent Upfronts.
“This is the best media company in the country and with all the major sporting rights and Hollywood studio rights locked down, we have a great opportunity to focus on taking growth to a whole new level, and I will be working closely with Peter to achieve that.”
As DAZN’s new chief operating officer, Delany will have responsibility for the company’s day-to-day trading performance, pricing and packaging, rights renewals, rights-holder relationships, content production, advertising and sponsorship.
Delany has led Foxtel Group since 2018 and previously served as CEO of Fox Sports Australia. He steered the company through increasing competition from Netflix, Disney+ and Prime Video and oversaw the launches and growth of Kayo Sports and BINGE.
More recently, he led Foxtel’s integration into DAZN following the global sports streaming company’s acquisition of the Australian business in 2025.
The leadership transition also comes as Foxtel moves further away from the Fox branding. Fox Sports is set to become Kayo Sports, with its channels renamed Kayo Footy, Kayo Cricket and Kayo League from 2027.
“DAZN is an extraordinary global business. I’m incredibly excited to play a wider role in the next phase of growth for the world’s leading sports entertainment platform. We are creating something really special and – after more than 20 years building the Australian Foxtel Group business – I’m looking forward to working with Shay and the team on our vision of making DAZN the home of sport for more than a billion fans around the world,” Delany said.
Segev said the appointments followed DAZN’s first-time profitability in 2025.
“DAZN is entering an exciting new chapter of profitable growth, during which we will build on the strong momentum we have created in the business. Our built-for-sport platform is now available in more than 200 markets, connecting millions of fans worldwide to the sports they love through immersive experiences that go far beyond broadcast. The stage is set for our strengthened leadership team to intensify our mission to build the world’s best sports entertainment platform for fans, rights holders and partners.”
DAZN has also appointed Alex Gersh as chief financial officer, succeeding Darren Waterman. Waterman moves into the newly created position of chief business officer, leading global partnerships, distribution and corporate transactions.
Foxtel Group confirmed Hilary Perchard, CEO of Kayo Sports, BINGE and Foxtel, will return to Europe after six years in Australia. He will continue working with DAZN in a consulting role.
Julian Ogrin will leave the company after eight years, following the integration of the Kayo Sports and BINGE apps into DAZN’s platform.
“We are really grateful to Julian Ogrin for the impact he has had on our business over the last eight years and the job he did in establishing the Kayo SPORTS and BINGE businesses and, earlier this year, transitioning them to the DAZN platform.
“We are also very grateful to Hilary Perchard for his relentless commitment to building out the streaming businesses and ensuring Foxtel remains such a strong offering, and he will continue to consult with me and provide his knowledge in supporting DAZN in Europe,” Delany said.
The leadership changes take effect immediately.
From Mediaweek