Presto fetches its final stream
It ended not with a bang, but a whimper. Today subscription video on demand service Presto will shut down. Few will mourn its demise.
The red-headed step-child of Foxtel, Presto launched in a bid to capture some of the reported 1/4 of a million Australians who were bypassing the then-geoblocked Netflix. It never really caught on, with users routinely expressing frustration with its library and technical problems.
At first Presto simply ignored the rising prominence of television series, instead launching strictly as a movie-only service. This was clearly programming against the tide of consumer interest – as Netflix proved, TV is absolutely what drives interest in most SVOD services.
The Presto movie library was always the strongest part of the service. The film’s were largely mainstream friendly Hollywood product and it was always easy to find something agreeable to watch regardless of mood.
Just prior to the launch of Australian competitor Stan, Presto did boost its library to include television, but much like everything else about the service, it felt slightly ill-conceived in execution. Instead of a flat rate charge, Presto offered two packages – Movies (owned wholly by Foxtel) and TV (owned in partnership with Seven). It was a bit confusing and seemed expensive compared to Netflix (at that time still yet to officially launch here, but still a heavily-subscribed to service) and to the $10 a month Stan which offered both TV and movies for that reasonably low price.
And then there was the TV library offered. Along with a whole bunch of library Seven titles like All Saints and Packed To The Rafters, it also offered a small selection of older HBO shows and a handful of other series. In fairness, the Presto library had some great titles like The Americans and Halt & Catch Fire, along with a number of series fast-tracked from the US like Mr Robot.
The library was good. But it never changed frequently enough. New series weren’t added with any regularity and the whole service always felt stagnant.
And then there was its limited availability. It was available on both iOS and*some* Android phones/tablets, but very few connected devices. A few video game consoles and smart TV’s, but it was never widespread in its availability. Even where it was available, customers complained that the apps didn’t work or crashed frequently.
On my own parents pricey Samsung 4k curved screen TV, a Presto app was installed, but didn’t work, nor was officially supported for several months.
From the outside, it often felt like Presto sought to self-sabotage itself, implementing hurdles every-time it looked to be righting the ship.
Presto closes today with customers enticed to move over to Foxtel Play, an online streaming service that offers streaming video channels and a great deal of on-demand content. It’s a better service and Foxtel appear far more committed to it than they ever did Presto.
If a broadcast TV channel was to shutter in the same way, viewers would be left with the haunting glow and crackle of TV static on the screen. When Presto turns off access at the end of the day, subscribers will just be left with an error message.
An experience many Presto users have been familiar with.
