200,000 Aussies Already Use Netflix
We are willing to pay for things if you just let us.
Australians may be the biggest TV pirates in the world (shut up, we also introduced you to penicillin – we’ve done our part) but the local success of Netflix – despite the service not being officially available yet – shows we are willing to pay for television if we can just get access to it.
Gizmodo have done an interesting analysis of the available information, and the most striking fact that comes to light is that Netflix currently holds 27% of the media subscription and rental market here: around 200,000 users.
This is notable, considering the service isn’t currently (officially) available to Australians. To bypass the geo-blocking and sign up somewhat surreptitiously takes lot more effort than downloading a torrent; surely this shows a substantial population exists that really wants to give Australian dollars to Netflix.
Yet a local launch has only been rumoured so far, with suggestions pointing to the first quarter of 2015.
How we bypass the geoblocking system
Foxtel remain the biggest market-share holders with 49.1%, and as Gizmodo points out, Netflix’s impressive early entry into our territory hasn’t actually dented the pay-TV service at all: in January 2013, Foxtel held a smaller share of the market at 47.3%, while Netflix had only 9.9%.
It seems Netflix’s portion of the market has cut directly into ye olde rentals, which have dropped from 34.5% last January to hold just 16.4% of the market now – still surprisingly high, considering the internet continues to exist.
“You’ll miss how rewindable I was… you all will.”
Until a local launch, here is our derp-proof guide to how Australians can bypass geoblocking (it’s the new Konami code) and enjoy Netflix from the comfort of their own living rooms/bathtubs-with-the-mirror-angled-right.