It’s happening! It’s really going to happen! While a lot of you might already be signed up to Netflix through the magic of a US account and a VPN, those without the know-how to do so – or those sick of residing in Nobody Gives A Fuck, Wisconsin as far as Netflix knows – can breathe a sigh of relief. Major film and TV production company and distributor Village Roadshow has confirmed that Netflix is negotiation content access for a launch of the streaming service in Australia. Say it with me: SHIT. YES.
Rumours of Netflix arriving in Australia come up with military like regularity, and for their part Netflix have always remained quiet on the issue, but this time we’ve got tangible, reliable evidence that it’s a ball that’s very much in motion.
Village Roadshow’s co-CEO Graham Burke stated to ZD Net, “[On] Netflix, they’re talking to our people about supply of products, so they are opening and coming to Australia.“
This represents Netflix tackling the one hurdle they face in coming to Australia, and that’s securing content from local distributors. Though there is no timeline for the arrival of the streaming giant in the country, previous rumour points to 2015 as the most likely window of opportunity for the company to launch any Australian expansion.
Should Netflix arrive in Australia it would, depending on content offered, go a long way to eliminating one line of argument in the case for alleged “internet piracy” in the nation, which centred chiefly around the unavailability of streaming or on-demand service such as Netflix.
How the company manages to navigate the fickle landscape of Australian TV distribution, with it’s exclusivity deals and monopolistic cable TV industry, remains to be seen.
