Netflix and Stan beat Foxtel for customer satisfaction and value for money in new poll
A new poll puts streaming services Netflix and Stan ahead of pay-TV provider Foxtel in terms of overall customer satisfaction and value for money.
The new research from customer satisfaction specialists Canstar Blue of 2,000 consumers put global giant Netflix top of the list for satisfaction and value for money with five stars each, with Stan second with four stars in each ahead of Foxtel, which only managed three stars.
Source: Canstar Blue
Perhaps more worryingly for the pay-TV provider its streaming service Presto got lower ratings in categories such as range of content, ease of sign up and new release availability than ailing service Quickflix.
However Foxtel does prevail on the key metrics of range of content and new release availability, with its exclusive deal with HBO for shows like Game of Thrones giving it exclusivity in the market for many hit US franchises.
While streaming services only arrived properly in Australia at the start of 2015 the new research, and in particular the value for money findings, suggest consumers’ perceptions of how much they should pay for content has shifted.
The survey also looked into the penetration of paid TV services and found 22% of households subscribe to more than one paid TV service, with adults in their 30s the most likely to do so (31%).
It added: “So the majority of consumers are happy to pay for TV content, which raises a big question about the future of free to air television. However, if our customer ratings are an indicator, a lot of people clearly have high expectations and don’t feel that their TV demands are being met, despite the relative low cost of these services.”
While a basic Foxtel package starts at $26 per month, premium services like sport, movies and the drama pack (including the HBO shows) rapidly takes costs above $100 per month.
Streming went mainstream in 2015
Netflix starts from $8.99 monthly, while Stan – a joint venture between Nine Entertainment Co and Fairfax Media – costs a flat $10 per month, the same as Presto.
According to the report: “Our research shows that Foxtel customers (17%) are the least likely paid TV customers to subscribe to more than one service, suggesting most are happy sourcing their TV content in one place. By contrast, 42% of Stan and 39% of Quickflix customers subscribe to an additional paid TV service. For Presto, the number is 29% and Netflix 24%.”
Despite having a smaller content library in Australia than most of its local competitors Netflix still rates second with four stars for range of content, buoyed by its own original programming.
“It seems that everyone has been talking about Netflix over the last 12 months – if you don’t have the service yourself, you probably know someone who does,” head of Canstar Blue, Megan Doyle told Fairfax Media.
“There’s definitely a bit of halo effect with Netflix. I’m a bit surprised it performed so well in terms of value for money but it seems it can’t do anything wrong. Its branding is amazing.”
Local service Stan claims the biggest content library for any streaming service, and has invested in original programming of its own including comedy series No Activity and the upcoming drama adaptation of movie Wolf Creek.
Foxtel’s streaming venture with Seven West Media Presto fares worst across all categories, scoring just two stars for range of content and new release availability and just three stars for ease of sign up.
Quickflix, which has been in a trading halt for the last six months and has had to restructure its deals with movie studios due to cashflow issues and has signalled it will look to move away from the competitive streaming space and concentrate on on-demand transactions for things like movies.
However it appears customer satisfaction with Quickflix may not be that high.
“When it comes to unsubscribing, we found that customers of Quickflix were the most likely to say they want to unsubscribe to a paid TV service (37%), followed by Stan (31%), Presto (25%), Foxtel (16%) and Netflix (12%),” the survey said.
Alex Hayes
About the only thing I missed from Foxtel was the live sport – and Sky News for a bit. ABCNews got a lot better this year.
Netflix and Stan has been great – kids love it too.
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Give it time – Has Netflix even been going for 12 months yet? Honeymoon period is still going.
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No surprise for ex-Foxtel customers. After several years it became difficult to watch all the ads Foxtel pumped out about cheap deals to entice new customers. Never once in 7 years was I incentivised or rewarded as a loyal customer.
A combo of Fetch TV, Stan & Netflix has replaced Foxtel in my household the past year or two and I can’t see that changing.
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live sport is literally the only thing keeping me with Foxtel, their customer service and value for money is non-existent. Only care about new customers, nothing for those who have been with them long term
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Foxtel gets maximum points for new release availability – the only metric that counts.
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