More Better Call Saul and Billions for Stan in 2017. Plus Twin Peaks and Offline downloads.
At a media event in Sydney today, Aussie streaming service Stan today unveiled its half-year 2017 lineup with some genuinely surprising announcements.
Offline Downloads
Stan will offer offline downloads for mobile viewing from March. Initially this will be available for iOS, but CEO Mike Sneesby revealed to Televised Revolution that the option will also be available for Android users on Android devices that currently support the Stan app. The Android app is now undergoing final testing, so presumably that means it shouldn’t be too long after the iOS release (if there even is a delay).
Sneesby explained that all but one distributor is signed on to offer offline downloads, meaning almost the entirety of the Stan catalogue will be available to download.
This is huge news on several fronts.
First of all, it offers greater depth of offline library than competitors in Australia. Netflix provide offline downloads for a relatively small selection of its content (mostly just select Netflix originals), while the Amazon library locally is too small to even bother considering. As the Amazon library grows, it will be a valued way of consuming Amazon content, but today it’s not even part of the conversation.
Secondly, this function is a huge benefit for Australian customers. Anecdotally, I witness a lot of people watching torrented shows on my commute to work each day. As viewers familiarity with the function increases, expect train and bus viewing to get a whole lot more legitimate.
4K Video
From day one of launch, Stan differentiated itself with a simple $10 subscription plan that included high definition. It positioned itself as a cheaper alternative to Netflix which offers HD only in its more expensive mid-tier plan at $11.99 a month. For its 4k ‘Ultra HD’ plan Netflix charge $14.99.
Stan will be rolling out its 4k streaming in April on 2015/16 Samsung TVs, LG TVs, and PS4 Pro. Shows available in 4K include:
- Breaking Bad
- Wolf Creek
- No Activity
- Preacher
- Mad Dogs
- Transparent
- Mozart in The Jungle
- The Girlfriend Experience
- Power
Wolf Creek Season 2
John Jarratt will return to the role of Mick Taylor in a second season of Wolf Creek, set to premiere in late 2017. Creator Greg McLean will return as a director, however it’s unclear on how many episodes he will direct.
A new cast of characters will feature in the second season, presumably jettisoning the lead actress from the first season played by Lucy Fry.
One Night Stan
The previously announced series of six stand-up specials will debut on Stan on 24 March. The specials will be released weekly. Comedians include Wil Anderson, Tom Ballard, Celia Pacquola, Tom Gleeson, Sam Simmons, and Judith Lucy.
Wil Anderson then came on stage for a short 15 minute contractually obliged set.
More…
Stan also heavily promoted content acquired through its Showtime deal and an assortment of other deals, such as Better Call Saul.
The Twin Peaks revival, coming to Stan in May, also received considerable attention.
A deal with Turner has also been struck, delivering exclusive SVOD access to Cartoon Network to Stan. The linear Cartoon Network channel will remain on Foxtel and Fetch TV.
Stan have held regular, half-yearly updates on the progress of its service since launch. CEO Mike Sneesby reported that they expect SVOD subscriptions in Australia to reach 8 million within five years. While Netflix will get the lion share of that, Stan has proven itself as a valued addition to ones monthly digital subscription spend.
