This week will see the media streaming giant, Netflix launch in Australia. We’ve known the date for a while (March 24th) but pricing and the local catalogue of shows has remained a mystery. That is until now, thanks to a /user/jimmux on Reddit, we get some early information. Obviously without official confirmation from Netflix, things could change, but he claims he was able to login earlier today and see the Australian pricing.
Netflix Australian Pricing
As we know from the US options, Netflix prices come in three tiers, starting at just A$8.99 per month, it’s $1 more than the starting price in the US. This gets you 1 device and only standard definition quality. The most popular plan is the middle tier, this offers support for 2 simultaneous streams in High Definition. This will cost you A$11.99 per month, which is spot on, exactly the same price as the US version.
If that middle price is confirmed to be official on Tuesday, it’s remarkable. It looks like Netflix won’t be paying GST on the service as a result of the content being served from international servers. Essentially this is a US service that, from the 24th will simply begin accepting the Australian currency. This price match will be a key strategy to get Aussie’s currently using VPN’s or DNS to use the US version, to transition to the Australian version. This will save existing Netflix users the cost of the currency exchange (currently 1 Australian dollar is worth 0.78 cents).
The top tier plan will get you access to no less than 4 simultaneous streams in HD and even Ultra HD (or 4K where available). This will cost you $14.99 per month, but if you’re getting the 4 display plan, it’s likely you’ll be splitting the cost with friends or family. Last year Netflix added profiles which allow your watching behavior to be separated from other. This also makes the Netflix recommendation engine reflect your favourite shows and genres.
Netflix Australia Content
This brings us to the issue of content in Australia. One of the more concerning prospects for existing users is how many of your favourite shows wouldn’t make it here. Thanks to the wonderful world of Hollywood rights deals, there will be some shows that Netflix offers in the United States that won’t be available here. That said it looks like the initial offering will be far less anemic than first thought.
Thanks to the leaker, we now have screenshots of the Australian catalogue. Keep in mind this will only grow from launch and any new deals that get signed certainly won’t be exclusive to the US. I’ve posted the TV Shows and the Australian movies selection below, but you can see the leaked catalogue in images over at Imgur.
