Where Innovation Meets Impact: John Matthews' Vision for the Future of Advertising at Foxtel Media

Foxtel Group is rewriting the rules of premium advertising and for Executive Director of Advanced Advertising at Foxtel Media, John Matthews it’s all about transforming how brands connect with Australia's most engaged audiences. From playing a key role in launching Kayo Sports, to pioneering world-first advertising technologies, John's journey at Foxtel Group reflects the company’s evolution from traditional broadcaster to streaming powerhouse, which makes his vision for what comes next exciting. "We're not just evolving advertising – we're reimagining what's possible when premium content meets cutting-edge technology," John explains. 

When Advertising Becomes Experience 

At the 2026 Upfronts, Foxtel Media unveiled innovative advertising formats: L-bars that wrap around live content without interrupting the action; pause ads that transform natural viewing moments into premium brand opportunities; and three to six-second solus bumpers that capture audiences in the most iconic sporting moments. 

These aren't just new ad placements; they're innovative ways for brands to engage with highly attentive audiences without disrupting the viewing experience they came for. 

"The great thing about these formats is from an advertiser perspective, they're unmissable opportunities," John says. "Everyone is going to see that ad. It's going to give really good reach and amazing attention because the user initiated the moment." 

The strategic thinking behind these innovations puts our customers first: L-bars maintain the commentary and keep the play as the vast majority of the screen, while pause ads appear only when viewers choose to pause – making advertising feel intuitive rather than intrusive. 

"Sport has almost been built for advertising, but what we're trying to do is introduce adverts in a way that's really seamless to the experience. Importantly these are not traditional ad breaks, we are integrating advertising into the viewing experience," John explains. "We're looking for natural breaks within play – after a goal in AFL, after a try in NRL, between overs in cricket. Customer experience is key." 

Commerce Meets Content 

Perhaps even more groundbreaking is Foxtel Media's partnership with allt.tv – a world-first technology that John describes as his most exciting Upfronts announcement. The platform connects the apps viewers already have on their phones to the content they're watching on TV in real time, creating seamless pathways from inspiration to transaction. 

Picture this: a customer sees a McDonald's ad and is prompted to open their McDonald's app, where they're directly linked to a special offer. Or someone watching The Great Australian Bake Off can open their supermarket app to find all the recipe ingredients already populated in their shopping cart, ready for delivery with one click. 

"I've been speaking to the guys at allt.tv for the last year, and the first time I saw the product, I was blown away," John recalls. "I've seen other people try to execute something similar, but it would always seem quite disruptive to the customer experience. The way these guys have developed their product is super intuitive." 

With around 90% of millennials and 70% of the broader population already second-screening while watching TV, all.tv taps into existing behaviour without the friction of QR codes or promotional searches. 

"We're not changing how people watch TV – we're making their existing habits more valuable for both them and advertisers," John explains. "This technology enables closed loop measurement, meaning advertisers can directly attribute sales to their streaming campaigns." 

The Advertiser Revolution 

For brands, these innovations solve fundamental challenges that have plagued premium advertising for decades. Where traditional linear TV could only offer eight advertisers spots in an NRL ad break, advanced advertising leverages access to premium moments. 

"Each impression can have a different advertising experience," John explains. "It really democratises the advertising experience, giving brands that historically wouldn't have had the budgets to tap into high-value content moments the ability to do that through digital advertising." 

The speed of impact is equally transformative. In John's previous roles, campaign results could take months to materialise. At Foxtel Media, innovation happens in real time. 

"You can make a change on Friday and on Monday you can see it's delivered hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of additional revenue," he says. "You can see the impact you have in real time." 

Building the Future Together 

For Foxtel Group staff, John's work represents more than revenue growth – it positions the entire organisation as innovation leaders on a global stage. The DAZN partnership amplifies this impact exponentially. 

"Working with DAZN gives us global scale," John explains. "There are ideas we have in this market that we can take globally. There may be innovation happening in Germany, Japan, or the USA that they can apply to us. The speed at which they can execute because of their large engineering team is really exciting." 

This global perspective transforms individual innovations into industry-defining moments. "You can test things in one market and roll them out globally very quickly," John notes. "From a personal perspective, as a sports lover, getting involved with the global sports streaming business is super exciting." 

The Curious Mind 

John's journey to the advanced advertising space began seven years ago when a head-hunter approached him about Foxtel’s plans for setting up Kayo Sports. As someone who describes himself as a "sports tragic," his response was immediate – though he admits he had to downplay his enthusiasm. 

"I almost would have done the job for free," he laughs. "But taking my years of digital advertising experience and applying it to the best content in the world – that's what gets me up every morning." 

His advice for others entering the advertising space reflects the rapid pace of change he's witnessed firsthand:

"Be curious. It's a space where there's so much innovation that it evolves so quickly. If you're not always looking to understand what's new and what's coming up, you're going to get left behind very quickly." 

Building networks matters just as much as building knowledge. "You're only ever going to be able to do so much yourself. When there's so much going on, you're going to fail – failure is fine, just make sure you learn from it. Build a good network where you can share learnings with each other." 

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