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Netflix surges past Foxtel as favoured TV service

More than one month since its Australian launch, US streaming giant Netflix has overtaken Foxtel as the video subscription service of choice for Australians – however local consumers continue to tap into its larger US catalogue, new research shows.

Recent statistics from Australian budgeting app Pocketbook showed Netflix – which launched in Australia on March 24 – had consumed 39 per cent of the paid video subscription market, with Foxtel losing 10 per cent of its share to 38 per cent since Netflix’s arrival.

But the overall market appears to be growing, which means the number of customers lost by Foxtel isn’t critical.

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“Based on the data, we can confidently conclude that Netflix is going to grow to be the dominant player in the media subscription landscape in Australia in the not too distant future,” Pocketbook researchers said.

“Their growth in the space of one month has been staggering, buoyed by a significant existing userbase accessing the service via VPN services, free month offering and significant public attention.

“Netflix has eclipsed Foxtel subscriptions for non-business customers, and given its perceived content advantage due to its US branding, the lack of set-up costs compared to Foxtel and overall competitive pricing compared to the likes of Stan and Presto, it is likely Netflix will chart a new path of domination.”

Based on the study of 85,000 Australians using Pocketbook’s app, the data showed 97 per cent of Australians who subscribed to Netflix’s US service using tools such as virtual private networks (VPNs) have not yet trialled Netflix’s Australian service.

Another lot of research conducted by finder.com.au compared Netflix’s US streaming movie and TV list to the Australian lists, with disappointing results, confirming the need for consumers to access Netflix’s US service.

It revealed that Netflix US subscribers enjoyed about six times as much content as Australian subscribers – which is about 1100 titles in Australia versus more 7000 in the US.

Meanwhile, Pocketbook’s research showed other recently launched streaming services in the Australian market have barely made an impact, with Stan, jointly owned by Nine Entertainment Co and Fairfax Media, claiming seven per cent market share in April.

Presto, Foxtel’s streaming service, has just one per cent, and Quickflix has decreased from six per cent six months ago to just three per cent in April.

“Netflix is the most popular subscription service in Australia for non-businesses, and the Netflix launch was three times more successful than the Stan launch,” the Pocketbook app study said.

The graph shows the growth of subscribers in each of the services within our sample of 85,000 people.

Pocketbook netflix data

Photo: Pocketbook

 

pocketbook netflix

Photo: Pocketbook 

The Pocketbook research also revealed the most popular Netflix Australia package was the middle-of-the-road $11.99 per month package.

More than two-thirds of users to Netflix Australia subscribed to the standard package, which is priced higher than Stan, at $10 per month and Presto at $9.99 per month.

One thing Foxtel provides that the other subscription services don’t is sport.

Pocketbook noted that Foxtel had a lot of business subscribers – company kitchens, meeting rooms and bars – that were not captured by this sample.

“Foxtel at its height, captured around two million Australian subscribers, or under 10 per cent of our population. A number Netflix may hit sooner than you expect, just as they have just hurdled over this proportion of the population in the US earlier this year,” Pocketbook researchers said.

Topics: Netflix
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