Netflix in Australia Matters Now More Than Ever.
We’re lucky.
Australians have been able to enjoy the spoils of U.S. content and their obsession with user experience with just a little bit of tech side-stepping.
Because of their quality offering, their ease of use, and the reasonably easy effort to get it, the Netflix brand has already spawned thousands of users and advocates for the service in Australia. And they haven’t spent a cent on media or acquisition tactics.
How did this happen?
For us, content has become a problem that needs to be solved. Frustrated at our constant lag of accessible technology / information / innovation / entertainment, there is an audience that sees Netflix’s arrival as a freedom flag waved all the way from America. With their recent launch we know that things are about to change for the better. Netflix’s arrival is not just another player in the market; they’re now a fighter for the people, and a liberator of content.
They represent a change that’s about to take this country by storm. To be true, the revolution has already begun. “Viva la revolución!”
Netflix in Australia are seen as liberators of content against Hollywood execs, and archaic local broadcaster rights. Australians have been eagerly anticipating Netflix’s arrival for a while — welcomed with open arms from the public. It’s the visual representation of a revolution happening for our free time.
Every revolution has its resistance.
There are the established networks and media players looking to bring Netflix’s brand value down before we have even arrived. Using mainstream media to write opinion pieces on Netflix’s lack of choice, lack of relevance, and lack ethics. They are attempting to set the agenda for consumers to doubt the service, to cast us as outsiders who don’t understand the needs of the local market.
They don’t have the technology to compete, or the brand affinity. So they’re doing what they know best: PR scaremongering. Mainstream press, blogs, opinions. Their strategy is to bring the competition down, not bring themselves up.
Stan and Presto have got every right to be worried.
“We’ve seen what the likes of Uber has done to the local landscape. It creates havoc in the market, and creates opportunity in the playing field for the betterment of consumers. Netflix arriving in Australia has come at a time where we need an equilibrium in content consumption.”
You see, most people in Australia don’t really know what streaming TV is. With most mainstream media outlets using Netflix’s arrival as an opportunity to set the streaming topic, Stan and Presto want to be available so that when we all start Googling what we want to sign ourselves up to, they’re not left out of the conversation.
You’re going to see a lot of articles titled: Netflix vs Stan vs Presto.
While annoying that it takes a U.S. company 5 years to come to Australia, and even more so that it takes Australian companies local fear in order to catch up, I’m happy to see the change in the landscape.
It’s this tension that provides a platform for Netflix to enter into. While the local market is still figuring out the technology (Stan doesn’t work in Chrome, for instance) Netflix are worrying about getting their content mix right, focusing on actually creating new shows, and setting the agenda of setting content free.
They have the means to liberate content in this region.
The content we pirate is now no longer needed with original shows and movies launched on par with the rest of the world. Truly, a globalised benefit for Australia to be in.
The simplicity and connectivity afforded to the US has always just been a delayed dream. It’s now a reality in our grasps. Netflix’s founding ethos that has seen it rise from the small startup world to the world’s number one choice of streaming content.
They’re here for the betterment of content. To spark innovation from the local incumbents. And us Aussies can’t wait to see what happens next.
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Originally posted on DT Thoughts.
