As we recently learned, an estimated 150,000 Aussies are using backdoor methods to bypass geo-blocking and access Netflix, which apparently has resulted in Netflix putting in motion plans to officially expand their operations to Australia. The Australian is reporting that ‘sources’ within the media are confident that, after hearing of the level of demand here and thinking to themselves ‘O RLY‘, a launch of Netflix Australia was “imminent”.
All this chatter comes rather soon after the announcement that Foxtel plan to offer their own video-on-demand service called Presto, with their aim being to secure the audience of the 70% of Australians who are yet to lock themselves into a Foxtel contract. With their newly forged partnership with Marvel, Netflix are set to release a stream of original content
and would presumably be able to offer a whole lot of US content, like The Killing and Lilyhammer, to Australian audiences without the current delays that we’re living with/torrenting around.
When asked about Netflix and Hulu at the Screen Forever conference last week, Richard Freudenstein, Foxtel chief executive, said
“Look, we always welcome competition…We’ll come out with a service that is better than the overseas services will be.” AKA, the corporate equivalent of ubutterburringit.
via The Australian
