STREAMING VIDEO – AUSTRALIA

Netflix password crackdown finally hits Australia, two months later than planned

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Original article by Karl Quinn
The Age – Page: Online : 25-May-23

Streaming video giant Netflix has belatedly commenced enforcing its policy on password-sharing in Australia. Netflix had been slated to begin the local crackdown in March, after introducing the new policy in countries such as New Zealand in February. Netflix will offer a number of options for people who have previously shared their password with friends and family in other households; these include taking out a new subscription for a ‘freeloader’ or adding a non-household member to an existing account for an additional fee. Netflix has estimated that about 100 million people access its service using a shared password.

CORPORATES
NETFLIX INCORPORATED

Ads on Foxtel’s Binge make it 30pc more profitable

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Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 23-Dec-22

Binge has opted for a different path to advertising-supported streaming than international rival Netflix, which launched a brand-new tier with ads in early November. Foxtel-owned Binge will instead introduce advertisements to one of its existing tiers in March. Foxtel Media CEO Mark Frain says modelling suggests that this strategy will make it a 30 per cent more profitable product. Foxtel Media is already selling advertising packages for Binge, and Frain notes that they are proving to be very popular with advertisers. He forecasts that Binge’s advertising revenue will be within the range of $50m to $100m within several years.

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BINGE, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FOXTEL MEDIA, NETFLIX INCORPORATED

Streaming services come to the rescue of local TV drama

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Original article by Edmund Tadros
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 14-Nov-22

Data from Screen Australia shows that pay-TV and subscription streaming services spent $445m on producing Australian drama in 2021-22. In contrast, the nation’s free-to-air broadcasters invested just $208m in local dramas during the last financial year. Screen Australia CEO Graeme Mason says streaming services are producing more Australian drama because they know local audiences want to see Australian stories on the screen. However, Mason advocates imposing local content quotas on international streaming services such as Netflix and Disney+.

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SCREEN AUSTRALIA, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, DISNEY+

Australian streaming apps from TV brands chip away at Netflix dominance

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Original article by Josh Taylor
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 3-Aug-22

Data from Sensor Tower shows that the Disney+ app was downloaded almost two million times in Australia during the last 12 months. Disney+ retained its status as the top downloaded entertainment app in Australia, ahead of Amazon, TikTok and Netflix. The streaming apps of local companies Nine, the ABC, Seven and Stan were also among the 10 most-downloaded apps during the last year. Sensor Tower’s data is based on the number of new downloads from the Apple and Android stores. Netflix still dominates Australia’s streaming video sector; research by Roy Morgan in February found that Netflix has more than 12 million subscribers nationwide.

CORPORATES
SENSOR TOWER, DISNEY+, AMAZON PRIME VIDEO, TIKTOK, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, ROY MORGAN LIMITED

ABC’s login plan to stem exodus fuels privacy fears

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Original article by Tom Burton
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 23-Feb-22

The ABC has defended its decision to require mandatory logins for users of its iview platform from 15 March. Amongst other things, the public broadcaster argues that personalised iview services will allow users to receive program recommendations and resume watching a show at any time and on any device. The ABC also claims that a more personalised iview experience could prevent the loss of younger audiences, which it says appear to favour the enhanced platform offerings of international video-on-demand services. However, privacy advocates have expressed concern about the ABC’s push for iview logins.

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AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, IVIEW

7.5 million Australians are now watching Broadcast Video on Demand such as 7plus, 9Now, 10 Play and ABC iView

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 23-Feb-22

New data from Roy Morgan shows that 7.5 million Australians now watch ‘Broadcast Video on Demand’ (BVOD) services. Viewership of BVOD services grew strongly during the early stages of the pandemic, with an increase of around 2.1 million viewers (+39.5%) in 2020 compared to the December 2019 quarter. This level of growth was always going to be hard to maintain and over the last year an additional 130,000 viewers streamed BVOD services, an increase of 1.8% on 2020, for a total of over 7.5 million viewers (35.5%). ABC iView continues to be the clear market leader with 4.13 million viewers in an average four weeks, up 985,000 (+31.3%) from two years ago, although down 633,000 (-13.3%) on a year ago. SBS On Demand remains in second place and is now viewed by 2.86 million Australians representing an increase of 217,000 (+8.2%) from two years ago although down 653,000 (-18.6%) from a year ago. The leader of the three traditional commercial broadcasters is the Seven Network’s 7plus which is now viewed by 2.6 million Australians, an increase of 727,000 (+38.8%) from a year ago. Close behind are the Nine Entertainment Company’s 9Now which is viewed by 2.38 million Australians, up 318,000 (+15.4%) on a year ago and Network 10’s 10 Play, now viewed by 1.7 million Australians, up 358,000 (+26.7%). This new data comes from Roy Morgan Single Source, Australia’s most comprehensive consumer survey, derived from in-depth interviews with over 60,000 Australians each year.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED

New media reforms to hurt Australian TV production

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Original article by Rod Myer
The New Daily – Page: Online : 9-Feb-22

The federal government’s latest media reforms will require streaming providers to invest at least five per cent of their Australian revenue in local content. This is well below the 10 per cent local content quota that the government had flagged in September 2020, while streaming services will not be penalised for failing to meet the revised quota unless Communications Minister Paul Fletcher decides to intervene. Screen Producers Australia CEO Matt Deaner is concerned that streaming services will produce local content in name only, using all-American casts to make US-style programs in Australia.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS, SCREEN PRODUCERS AUSTRALIA

Foxtel on track to top 5m subscribers

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Original article by James Madden
The Australian – Page: 13 & 20 : 1-Oct-21

Pay-TV and streaming group Foxtel currently boasts more than four million customers, and CEO Patrick Delany has told the inaugural strategy day that it aims to lift this to five million within three years. Foxtel will also target annual revenue of $3bn. Delany noted that Foxtel has been transformed from a one-product company several years ago to one with multiple revenue streams as its focus has shifted from traditional linear broadcasting to subscription video-on-demand. Some 53 per cent of Foxtel’s customers now subscribe to one of its streaming services, compared with eight per cent in 2016. Delany also said that the question of an IPO is a matter for Foxtel’s shareholders.

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FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

Telstra CEO Andy Penn would support a Foxtel IPO

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Original article by David Swan, James Madden
The Australian – Page: Online : 17-Sep-21

Telstra CEO Andy Penn says the telco would retain its stake in Foxtel should the pay-TV and streaming group pursue a sharemarket float. He regards Telstra as a long-term investor in Foxtel, but concedes that its 35 per cent would most likely be diluted via an IPO. Penn adds that Telstra would be open to an IPO if it provided more opportunities for Foxtel in the future. He also says Foxtel’s focus on digitisation has allowed it to meet the challenges presented by streaming rivals such as Netflix.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, NETFLIX INCORPORATED

Sky News Australia denies broadcasting Covid misinformation, saying YouTube is totalitarian

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Original article by Amanda Meade
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 7-Sep-21

Sky News Australia CEO Paul Whittaker says he does not accept the suggestion that it "directly or indirectly" promoted misinformation about COVID-19. Whittaker was appearing before the Senate’s media diversity inquiry, and was responding to a question by Senator Sarah Hanson-Young. Commenting on the decision by YouTube to remove 23 Sky News videos on the grounds that they breached its medical misinformation policies, Whittaker accused YouTube of being "totalitarian".

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SKY NEWS, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED