Netflix Is Coming But Will It Be Worth It?
Netflix might be coming to Australia – film distributor Village Roadshow confirmed as much last week – but will local subscribers familiar with the US and Canadian offering be disappointed when it does?
Last week film and TV trade rag The Hollywood Reporter revealed that when Netflix is up and running in Germany, France, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium and Luxembourg – the next list of places it is planning to set up shop – audiences won’t have access to all of the programming American subscribers take for granted. Most interesting is the Netflix original series House of Cards which in France is exclusively licensed to premium cable channel Canal+. The channel has dibs on the first two seasons of the critically acclaimed Kevin Spacey political drama but with the third season expected to have begun production in June, it would be fair to assume Netflix will be holding onto that for itself which makes for a convoluted viewing experience – watch the first two series on this channel but switch for the third? That would temper your binge watching urges.
Original shows like House of Cards are considered to be quite a draw for subscribers although when the streaming service’s first quarter earnings came out last year, Netflix co-founder and CEO Reed Hastings, said: “What we’ve seen with House of Cards is a very nice impact but a gentle impact, not one that’s an overnight impact.”
Still the impact must be decent enough for Netflix to continue to produce its own content. Another of its original series, Orange is the New Black, has just been recommissioned for a third season. And in a bold move for both the host and Netflix, talk show queen Chelsea Handler has jumped ship from the E! Network to produce a late night show for the platform. While the media grapples with how a late show will work for an on-demand network, Netflix has also been busy saving fan favourite TV series like Arrested Development and The Killing making additional episodes long after the programs were axed by the channels which originally commissioned them. These shows were given an extended life after Netflix purchased the rights to run the abandoned series and saw solid viewership among its audiences.
So what does all this mean for us? While we might well see Netflix available locally, there’s no guarantee as to what we’ll get on the platform. Australian audiences have already had first hand experience of exclusive rights deals. Fans were up in arms when the most recent season of Game of Thrones was locked down by Foxtel and not made available for purchase on iTunes. Foxtel also has the local rights for Netflix’s House of Cards as well as a number of other films and programs that stream on the service in the US. And existing rights deals with free-to-air networks, as well as local streaming services like Quickflix and FetchTV, may well restrict further content from being available on an Aussie Netflix offering.
In the US, Netflix recently announced a $1 price increase making the service US$9 per month. By comparison Foxtel’s Presto, which allows users to stream a limited selection of Foxtel content and films, fetches $19.99. Based on the current AUS/US exchange rates, that’s quite a price difference. Is Foxtel passing on the high cost of securing local digital rights to its subscribers or is it just being greedy? If it’s the former, what is Netflix going to cost us? It only takes a quick look at the US iTunes store to know we often get shafted when it comes to viewing content compared to our American compatriots.
After having spent some time in the States last year, I got hooked on Netflix. The seamless availability of the service across multiple devices, the smart use of data to recommend programs and films that meet personal taste and, of course, the content, won me over. I’d love to see it available Down Under but the smart money is on the networks holding tightly to their existing rights deals and the result being an expensive, watered down version of the service. Which is a bit shit, really.
Please login with linkedin to comment
Advertising Standards Bureau APN Outdoor Bloke Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School Family Feud Fetch TV Rule The Headline SeriesLatest News
Optus Offers Victorians Free Access To Optus Sport
Locked down Victorians who don’t currently have an Optus Sport subscription will have complimentary access to Optus Sport from this weekend to enjoy the UEFA Champions League tournament plus access to premium health and fitness content through the Optus Sport app. UEFA Champions League – the world’s premier continental football tournament – kicks off at […]
Torrens University Australia Launches ‘Career Crush’ Via VCCP Sydney & Lash
Torrens University Australia has launched ‘Career Crush’ via VCCP Sydney and Lash, to help match students with a career they’ll love. Career Crush is an online quiz that determines prospective students’ personal strengths, passions and aspirations to match them with the careers and courses they’re most compatible with. One of the toughest decisions young people […]
Is Imitating An Accent Racist? 23% Of Aussies Think So
Study reveals it's no longer acceptable to call a colleague a "flamin' galah" or announce that "a dingo's got my baby".
Audi Unveils Latest Campaign ‘Raised By Racecars’ Via The Monkeys
Who doesn't love new work from The Monkeys? Unless, of course, you're a rival agency who just lost the account, that is.
Gaming Mums? The Key Demographic That Advertisers Are Missing
Study finds mums are turning to gaming. Apparently, not drinking 24 Red Bulls & living off Uber Eats while doing it.
Gen Z Men Say Feminism’s Gone Too Far & Makes It Harder For Men To Succeed
New study reveals Gen Z men now the fourth straight consecutive generation in a row to get the willies from feminism.
Study Finds Both Conservative & Feminist Women React “Positively” To Sexualised Advertising
This study's quite academic, so B&T has had to edit out the bits where we had no idea what the boffins were on about.
JCDecaux Brings Real Red Nose Day Heroes To life To Help Raise Funds For SIDs
We're big red nose supporters here in the B&T office. Admittedly, it's more a gin thing than a child charity one.
Pedestrian Partners With With NZ’s Mi9 To Expand Commercial Offering
Pedestrian Group has partnered with Nine subsidiary Mi9 New Zealand to offer NZ brands the opportunity to partner with the likes of Business Insider Australia, Pedestrian.tv and Gizmodo Australia. Next month, Mi9 New Zealand will be representing Pedestrian Group in the NZ market, offering clients the opportunity to work with leading youth publications including Lifehacker […]
triple J Hack’s Avani Dias To Work On Collaborative Four Corners Investigation
triple J's Avani Dias to work on a Four Corners investigation which will no doubt be depressing judging by Four Corners.
ACCC Admits It Doesn’t Penalise Influencers For Breaking Sponsored Content Rule
ACCC set to keep a keener eye on influencers, as Rod Sims reveals pearly whites thanks to Kendall Jenner whitening pen.
“An Inflection Point”: News Corp CEO On What The ACCC’s News Payment Code Means For Journalism
No one hates the tech giants quite like News Corp. So, expect plenty of the usual barbs, swipes, sprays & vitriol here.
Seven Announces Spotlight Investigations Team Covering Breaking News & Deep Dives
Seven unveils new 'Spotlight Investigations' team that B&T hopes will use a proton pack & Neutrino Wand to bust ghosts.
News Corp Earnings Slump 20%, As CV-19 And Local Assets Drag The Business Into The Red
Rupert sends threatening internal staff memo that he'll "release the monkeys", as News' numbers bleed red.
Thursday TV Wrap: Nine & Seven Thursday Night Footy Clash Sees AFL Come Out On Top
TV served-up the veritable footy feast last night. Or, if that didn't tickle your fancy, there were trains over at SBS.
Run, Don’t Walk! B&T Awards Entries Closing In Exactly One Week!
Hear that clock ticking? That's your one week warning for B&T Award entries. It'll be the steel drums next, we warn you.
VCNI To Launch SVOD Service Featuring ViacomCBS Content, Replaces 10 All Access
ViacomCBS Networks International (VCNI), a division of ViacomCBS, is launching a premium streaming service internationally, appealing to audiences of all ages. The new SVOD service will start its international roll-out early in 2021, offering exclusive premieres of all new SHOWTIME series, including Halo and American Rust. CBS All Access originals will also premiere exclusively on the new service, such […]
PubMatic Grows Team To 500, Set To Make Another 80 Hires In 2020
Much like the peacock's exotic plumage, this PubMatic news has its share of showing-off. Not that it's mating season.
“Buy A Hammer & F@ck Off!” ‘Chopper’ Read Reveals His Own “Karen From Bunnings” Ad
Let B&T end the week as we started it, with ANOTHER "Karen from Bunnings" story. Or, how we ended the week previous.
Optus ‘Yes’ Brand Mark Taken Into New Territory By FutureDeluxe
As part of a larger project to refine their brand with partner branding agency Re, Optus have engaged experimental creative studio FutureDeluxe to explore how the iconic ‘Yes’ brand mark behaves in a sophisticated 3D environment. FutureDeluxe have produced a series of 8x idents and a number of static key visuals which will be used […]
“Clean ‘Em Out!” Political Candidate Threatens Rivals With A Colonoscopy In Oddball Ad For US Elections
With the US presidential elections a mere three months away, B&T's just going to sit back & watch the lunacy flood in.
Nike & Wieden+Kennedy Unveil First Work For Liverpool FC
Liverpool has given us many great things, including The Beatles, head butts & football hooliganism. Now comes this ad.
Women In Print Starts New Chapter & Finds New Home
For some reason B&T's illustrated this Women In Print story with a computer screen. Yes, an investigation is underway.
Emotive Partners With YouTube And The United Nations
Creative agency, Emotive, and Good Oil Films, is partnering with YouTube and the United Nations to raise awareness around the importance of quality education, which forms part of the UN’s Global Goals for sustainable development.
HWBK Retains Seven Miles & Secures Campaign Work With Marine Stewardship Council
As this photo proves, gone are the days when it was shorties to the front, tallies to the back & polkadots were a no-no.
Grill’d Launches 100% Natural Campaign
Hungry Jacks may claim its "burgers are better", but Grill'd can most certainly claim its are four times more expensive.
LinkedIn Perfectly Captures The Realities Of WFH In New Spot
Sadly, new campaign doesn't answer why people look far more attractive in their LinkedIn photo than in real life.
Zuckerberg: Regulating Targeted Ads Will Hurt Small Businesses
Zuckerberg slams regulators and issues terse warning to whomever's using his squeezable mayonnaise in the staff fridge.
Televised Church Service Catches The Full Fury Of The Beirut Explosion
Arguably, church is one place you'd want to be during a massive explosion. But as this proves, a bank vault's better.
Trump Interviews Trump In A Hilarious Mashup Of His Car-Crash TV Interview With Aussie Journo
It's not often you hear "leader of free world" & "comedic genius" in the same sentence, such is the Trump presidency.
