Choice targets disparities in cost of streaming content in Australia
A new analysis by consumer advocacy group Choice claims Australian customers are being forced to pay much high rates for overseas drama content even when it is delivered online through streaming or on-demand services.
The Choice analysis highlights popular US series such as Orange is the New Black and the Walking Dead as examples of where Australian consumers are paying dramatically more than their American or British counterparts, driving people to overcome geo-blocking and access US websites like Netflix and Hulu.
Choice graphic
“Australians wanting to watch the upcoming season of Walking Dead will be paying up to 376 per cent more than people watching the same show in the United Kingdom,” says Choice Chief Executive Alan Kirkland.
Nevertheless, that does NOT explain why any online streaming content should be more costly in Australia than the US or UK. Fox is full of BS but has explained nothing. There are no extra costs involved. LIAR.
And then there was this…
http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2.....ing-media/
While Choice may be comparing apples, oranges and pears – Foxtel is trying to make an argument without numbers because the numbers still don’t add up for them.
If I want Foxtel and I want movies, sports, kids and general entertainment I need to pay $124/month for the premium package and that gets me 91 channels. I can pay 50USD/month to Comcast in the US and get over 140 channels including kids, sports and movies. There’s an apples for apples comparison.
As I don’t live in the US and I can’t afford Foxtel, I instead choose to combine Netflix and Hulu subscriptions (with a VPN service) which gets me access to current TV, historical TV and movies. Each subscription costs 8USD/month and a VPN will cost about $2/month (assuming you buy a year upfront). Total cost to me less than $20/month AUD (and less than Foxtel’s updated intro package at $25/month). Apples for apples Quickflix costs only $10/month but it’s got a very limited library and you pay an extra for premium items ($5.99 per movie or $2.99 episode).
Foxtel would have a valid argument if they played the shows out at the same time as the US. It is very rare for them to fast track show – Orange is the New Black is currently more than half the series behind, Hell on Wheels similar. And you have to purchase higher than base packages to get these shows. They have been rumoured to be restructuring their prices due to the amount of people that have set up offshore/VPN netflicks accounts (some 250,000), but whether less than ridiculous prices will make them more popular than Red Foo in a Sydney pub is yet to be seen.
Try adding up what it costs in Foxtel to get the range of what’s in Netflix. It is ridiculous. Plus you have to pay for a whole lot of setup.
Sure Netflix does not have everything. But it’s so much better value than Foxtel that there is no comparison. (Plus Netflix made House of Cards and Foxtel made…..)
Pirate Bay (AUD)
$0.00
-100%
Surely the issue is that apples cost 3x more in this country. As does everything else.
It’s very simple, buy a Seebo, it does it all, it is a amazing entertainment hub at a one off payment, yes that’s right one off payment.
This is why I pirate
This is why everyone who reads this needs to hit up KickAss Torrents
Get amongst it!
Admittedly I work at Foxtel so am biased but I have to agree that it’s unfair to compare Netflix with Foxtel. Netflix is a great product but you can’t rely on it alone if you want all the new US content such as Game of Thrones, Girls, the Walking Dead or Mad Men. If it was a one stop shop for all content needs then the penetration of cable TV in the US wouldn’t still be sitting at 50%.
Choice has incorrectly compared subscription services with Electronic Sell Thru (EST) ownership models iTunes, Google and other digital platforms offer. If they aimed to compare pricing correctly, they should have taken into account that subscription services such as Netflix and Foxtel only offer a streaming or linear service to their customers. To make a fairer comparison they should have compared the closest thing to EST ie. DVD pricing. They would have discovered that the DVD is way more expensive than EST, and episodes are offered day after the Australian broadcast on EST rather than at the end of the season (for The Walking Dead that is).
…….Oh and to answer ‘Huh?’s’ question Foxtel has made/is making Wentworth, Devil’s Playground, Deadline Gallipoli, Grand Designs, River Cottage and Paddock to Plate.
Unfortunately most Australian’s won’t ever hear about this local content as they’ll be too busy trying to find out what the next ‘must watch’ US series will be.
Felicity.. unfortunately most Australian’s won’t hear of those shows because most of us are priced out of the choice.
And as for your 50% cable figure… pretty sure Netflix doesn’t count as cable TV.. isn’t that in the name?
Is the Netflix $8.56 for Orange Is The New Black for the series or per episode. I’m pretty sure that Foxtel is for the series in Foxtel Play and for all series in Boxed Set … plus you get shitloads more stuff for your $45.
If so it’s a bit like comparing the cost of one match compared to the cost of a box of matches.
Everything is expensive in Australia – deal with it you numbnuts.
The price of apples, labour, manufacturing, fuel and even hookers!
Foxtel is doing a great job for the Australian economy making jobs and producing local content – and giving jobs to thousands of people. Yes, its expensive but the new pricing will be very competitive from Nov 3.
Netflix should be banned from entering Australia becuase of the negative impact on the economy or should be made more expensive. Anyhow, they dont have any thing to offer more than random TV shows + movies while Foxtel has the entire package – movies, sports, drama, lifestyle, entertainment, kids and music, blahblah….
“Unfortunately most Australian’s won’t ever hear about this local content.”
Nope.
It’s the reverse. Australians are hearing about everything now they don’t have to rely on a rip-off local redistribution system for their information.
The obvious answer is get rid of the local redistribution system (Fox, Nine etc), but that’s occurring anyway as viewers vote with their eyeballs.
Once the AFL and co work out they don’t need Fox, Nine etc, that they can go direct to a global audience themselves, paying nothing to rip-off local redistributors, it’ll be game over.
If we got rid of Fox and Nine then there would be no one to fund the local content referenced above.
from the armchair………….pretty sure I wasn’t including Netflix as a cable provider (would kind of defeat the purpose of my point wouldn’t it).
Anyway, I’ll admit that it was an incorrect figure. Pay TV (satellite and cable) penetration is actually closer to 86%. Americans typically get Netflix on top of their cable, rather than instead of it.
Netflix is around $8 a month. And super easy to get.
I like having Foxtel. Really dislike paying through the nose for it. Especially when new release is often 6 months behind the 8-ball.
Except for NRL. Which should be free. For everyone. Just like the AFL.
A service that charges a premium, sorry, super-premium price, who also serves more ads than most free to air TV channels should cost a hell of a lot less.
And the fact that Rupert’s newspapers have been so passionate to elect the party who’ve screwed up our NBN beyond repair makes me even less inclined to renew my subscription.