The name’s the same, but now Nine Entertainment has a new partner in its StreamCo video-on-demand venture… Fairfax Media.

The two companies announced a 50-50 joint venture today, and talked of a 2015 launch in place of the September one expected within the industry.

Nine has been working on the project for most of a year, with Mike Sneesby – named as the JV’s chief executive – in charge. His LinkedIn profile notes he joine the company last September from Sydney-based Cudo, and a stint with Intigral in Dubai. he was ninemsn’s strategy and business development director from 2007-2010, joining from Optus.

Now Nine and Fairfax have announced the StreamCo service is likely to launch “during the 2015 financial year”. It will offer a broad range of local and international programming to subscribers for a fixed monthly subscription fee and no minimum term commitment. Technical infrastructure is being finalised and a number of “cornerstone content deals” have been closed.

Australia’s NBN fibre network is expected to provide the impetus for internet-delivered video-on-demand, expected to grow significantly in the next decade.

The partners say StreamCo will take a leading position in its development, “bringing access to a substantial catalogue spanning TV series, movies, kids and family programming, and documentaries from a wide range of leading Australian and international studios, along with market-leading content from Nine”.

StreamCo will offer unlimited, on-demand viewing through a range of devices including TV screens, tablets, PCs and mobile devices.

“Nine’s deep background in the television industry in Australia, and understanding of Australian viewer preferences, will be complemented by Fairfax’s experience and strength in subscription services and digital products,” says a spokesman.

The business will operate independently of Nine’s and Fairfax’s existing media businesses. Their chief executives, David Gyngell and Greg Hywood will join the board.

Each company has agreed to commit “up to $50 million each” to the venture over several years for expenditure which includes marketing and advertising, although most marketing and advertising will come from the partners.

Nine, which had been expected to take the Seven Network into the venture, has chosen Fairfax instead. Hywood (pictured right) describes Nine as “a fantastic partner”. It's an expression of esteem that may set the scene for what might happen if the government gets around to media reform.

Peter Coleman

On our homepage: Mike Sneesby helped launch a subscription service in the UAE