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Netflix confirms March debut in Australia

US streaming giant Netflix finally confirms Australian and New Zealand launch, but no pricing yet.

2014-11-19_1041Netflix has confirmed that it will launch in Australia and New Zealand in March 2015.

The SVOD service is currently taking early alert sign-ups for Australian viewers via its website, but pricing has not been announced.

The service will be “available at launch on smart TVs, tablets and smartphones, computers and a range of Internet-capable game consoles and set-top boxes”.

Launch titles will include Marco Polo, BoJack Horseman, All Hail King Julien, plus upcoming titles Bloodline, Daredevil, Sense8, Grace and Frankie, Virunga, Mission Blue, Uganda Be Kidding Me from Chelsea Handler, and Jim Jeffries’ Bare.

Absent from the launch release thus far is  House of Cards, but it was it was recently confirmed that Foxtel had lost the rights in anticipation of a local launch.

Netflix has also secured exclusive SVOD rights to Batman prequel series Gotham one-year after Nine’s broadcast.

Australians will be able to sign-up for a one month free trial then move onto one of their three-tiered pricing plans.

This post updates.

18 Responses

  1. @Pertinax, I disagree with you view on SVOD. We’ve already heard of a number of exclusive offerings from both Stan and Netflix. Both poaching shows from Foxtel and FTA’s..

    You can almost be certain that both will also produce one or two local series and that will be a determining factor in who wins the war.

    Sport wont be enough to secure all the paytv subscribers and the extra money required to buy out the right for the NRL, AFL etc to not use direct to consumer services like a few currently do, is going to be huge come the next deals.

    Finally, I think the tele movies FTA’s have shown in the last 3-4 years have rated far higher than the longer running series from the bottom of the barrel, so I’m sure they can still produce worthy scripted if they do it right.

  2. @Gonzo
    Foxtel will concentrate on Sport (they now have about 9 sports channels in their sports package) and Premium cable and BBC dramas which they have locked up with exclusive contracts.

    FTA will concentrate on sport, events and contest shows that draw massive live audiences. There will be House Husbands and Winners and Losers, but stuff like A Place To Call Home and Party Tricks aren’t viable.

    SVOD fills in the gaps supplying mostly old content that people can watch when they have nothing else to do very cheaply. They will only be able to afford to make a few flagship original shows.

    The biggest threat from SVOD is people dropping their cable connections, like they have their phone lines once they have good broadband connections. That is why HBO and Foxtel are moving into streaming.

  3. @cnrmlj, that’s not entirely correct.

    Itunes doesn’t carry anything they can’t exploit 24 hours after each TX (GOT etc). If these services have any sense, they’ll be offering over time more than Itunes which in their case is completely self inflicted.

  4. The UK and US have been experiencing this for years.

    FTA in some sense has won the war and they’re becoming the main internet portal in those terriotries.

    In Australia, however, their survival will be built around local content. An expensive reality, but a reality none the less.

    All this overseas content has always been here, people have always been consuming, hence the fragmentation. A big chunk will be legitimised I guess and a few of the SVOD services will go bust overtime.

    If I were Foxtel, I’d be looking to make shows that didn’t have similar qualities to high rating FTA shows. The ad revenue drug will bite in this new landscape and it will all come back to what drives subscribers. Sport is a huge element of that, but scripted is a clear second.

  5. Wow – how quickly the media landscape is changing – fragmentation already resulting in most nights with shows in the top 10 struggling to get one million viewers – now this !!!! Once again I repeat that I believe the majority of people will not sit through long ad breaks, or will fast forward through them or jump onto the internet. Interesting times indeed.

  6. The elephant in the room of course is the quality of broadband in much of Australia. It’s not going to be much use if you’re somewhere where you struggle to get above 1.5 mbps or have a low monthly download limit.

  7. Its an apples and carrots comparison between iTunes and Netflix. iTunes you pay to either rent or own specific titles whereas Netflix is an all you can eat model while you area subscriber.

    Assuming they have the same tiers as the U.S., I reckon pricking will be $9.99 for single user/SD, $14.99 for 2 users/HD and $19.99 for 4 users/HD…….but with substantially less content (at least initially).

  8. I am hoping they’ll have some old tv shows that you can’t get on DVD. Like Ever wood.

    It’ll be interesting to see prices and how much different it is from itunes and Google play.

  9. Good to hear, but I think there will be still issues with pirating because as it I understand to watch some shows (eg Gotham) you’ll need Netflix, for some (eg Better Call Saul) you’ll need Stan and for some (eg GOT) Foxtel.
    They’ll all want you to pay by the month so it will soon add up if you want to watch new release shows,

  10. Reading some of the comments that people have been making on Social Media, has been quite hilarious.

    One person wrote “The likes of Netflix will be the end of cable and broadcast television” Obviously ignoring the reality that 99% of all content on Netflix, comes from cable and broadcast tv.

    And another “prices will be the same, if not cheaper than the US”. What planet this person is on I have no clue.

    And another “Now, I won’t have to get Foxtel to watch GOT”. Boy is this person going to be very disappointed.

    I’m going to call it, and say that prices will be double that of the US and content will be half of what is offered in the US. I’m not being cynical. I’m just being realistic, this is Australia – the land of high prices – after all.

  11. Depending on content, I’ll likely still use a VPN to access the U.S. service, but at least it’ll be easier to get the apps and the like once it’s officially available in Australia

  12. Its great they have finally come out with a launch date. Just waiting for more information about pricing, content and whether they will partner up with an isp to provide a free data for using the service. Considering there is a windows phone official Netflix app available in other markets that’s one item that won’t be a factor in whether the service will be worth it in its initial stages.

  13. But that doesn’t matter because as netflix begins to produce its own Programs like Daredevil next year the Catalogue of programs it can draw on will grow!

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