Netflix is jumping into Australia’s suddenly crowded video on-demand market, ending months of speculation by finally announcing a long-awaited Australian and New Zealand launch set for March 2015.
The hugely popular video on-demand subscription will hit Australian shores early next year with original programing, led by self-financed series “Marco Polo” and “BoJack Horseman” plus Dreamworks’ Madagascar spin-off “All Hail King Julien”. Other titles will include “Bloodline” (starring Aussie actor Ben Mendelsohn), the Marvel “Daredevil” franchise, “Sense8” from the team behind the ‘Matrix’ trilogy and the Netflix premiere of “Grace and Frankie”, starring Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda.
Netflix is offering Aussies users one-month free trials followed by subscriptions based on the quality of stream, tiered into “standard definition video, high-definition and 4K ultra-HD, to one or more screens at a time” categories available to stream over televisions, tablets, smartphones, computers and Internet-connected gaming consoles.
The company says “additional details on pricing, programming, and support devices will be available at a later date”, however is expected to compare to Netflix US subscriptions available for $8.99 a month.
“Australia and New Zealand have been a long time coming for us,” Netflix director of corporate communications and technology Cliff Edwards told Fairfax Media.
“Both countries are great locations for us, we know that people have been very enthusiastic with us not in country and we hope that enthusiasm will grow when we launch in March.”
Rumblings of a Netflix expansion into Australia kicked off in June before news of a planned $20 million Australian marketing blitz leaked earlier in the month. Wednesday’s announcement follows Netflix’s recent launches in France, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Luxembourg.
Stan, another video-on-demand service from Nine Entertainment and Fairfax Media’s SteamCo, announced an early 2015 launch date this month, bringing with it Breaking Bad’s upcoming prequel “Better Call Saul”.
