Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Sept 17, 2014 20:21:57 GMT -6
variety.com/2014/digital/news/holy-down-under-batman-netflix-has-gotham-rights-for-australia-signaling-launch-plans-1201307582/
Warner Bros. confirms SVOD player has rights to superhero series in Australia
Netflix has locked up exclusive subscription-streaming rights for Australia to Batman origin series “Gotham” under its deal with Warner Bros., Variety has confirmed — perhaps the clearest sign yet the SVOD player plans to launch in the country sometime in 2015.
A Warner Bros. rep confirmed reports that Netflix’s rights to “Gotham” extend to Australia. The deal covers any territory Netflix is currently operating in as well as those it plans to launch in the near future, the rep said.
“Gotham” premieres in the U.S. on Fox on Sept. 22, and Netflix’s streaming rights kick in after the series second season bows. In Australia, Nine Entertainment holds first-run broadcast and in-season catch-up rights to the show.
Word of Netflix’s likely launch in Australia comes as the company bows service this week in six new European countries — France, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, Austria and Switzerland.
Netflix declined to say when it might launch service Down Under, which has been the source of months of speculation. “We have global rights for a number of shows and nothing to announce about Australia or other countries,” a rep said. “We are all about Europe this week.”
Analysts estimated Netflix’s entry into Australia would occur in the second half of 2015, as it continues international rollouts in stages.
Australia, notwithstanding relatively high levels of piracy, is an attractive market for Netflix, with an estimated 6.4 million broadband households, according to Janney & Co. analyst Tony Wible. That’s akin to smaller European countries like the Netherlands; however, Australian consumers spend more on video (an average of about $58 monthly), well above that in Europe and Latin America, the analyst wrote in a note.
“We view the potential entry into this country as attractive in its own right, but moreover it could be a strategic move to get a foothold into the broader Asia-Pacific region, where we think a significantly bigger opportunity awaits,” Wible said.
This summer, reports surfaced that Netflix execs had visited Australia and have discussed licensing deals with studios for the country.
Similar to the U.K and Canada, where Netflix has shown strong growth, Australia has one dominant pay-TV provider, Foxtel, according to Stifel analyst Ben Mogil. “Netflix’s successful experience in the U.K. and Canada was predicated on markets where the major studios had output deals entirely with one pay-TV provider, leaving many films in the market either lacking distribution or receiving relatively low terms for its content given the limited competition for content,” Mogil wrote in a research note.
The biggest SVOD player currently operating in Australia, Quickflix, has complained that Netflix isn’t playing fair — referring to the reported 200,000 Aussies who already subscribe to Netflix and access the U.S.-based service via virtual private networks that bypass geoblocking restrictions.
“If you want Netflix to compete in Australia come through the front door,” Quickflix CEO Stephen Langsford wrote in an open letter to Netflix topper Reed Hastings, released Monday. “Instead you’re currently enjoying a free ride in Australia ignoring unauthorised ‘back door’ access to your US service and thereby taking revenue away from local services which are investing to service the local market and endeavouring to provide choice and competition to consumers.”
Meanwhile, last month Foxtel cut the price of its basic cable TV package in half, to $25 (Australian) per month — a move analysts see as a preemptive response to a potential Netflix launch Down Under, per the Sydney Morning Herald.
Warner Bros. confirms SVOD player has rights to superhero series in Australia
Netflix has locked up exclusive subscription-streaming rights for Australia to Batman origin series “Gotham” under its deal with Warner Bros., Variety has confirmed — perhaps the clearest sign yet the SVOD player plans to launch in the country sometime in 2015.
A Warner Bros. rep confirmed reports that Netflix’s rights to “Gotham” extend to Australia. The deal covers any territory Netflix is currently operating in as well as those it plans to launch in the near future, the rep said.
“Gotham” premieres in the U.S. on Fox on Sept. 22, and Netflix’s streaming rights kick in after the series second season bows. In Australia, Nine Entertainment holds first-run broadcast and in-season catch-up rights to the show.
Word of Netflix’s likely launch in Australia comes as the company bows service this week in six new European countries — France, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, Austria and Switzerland.
Netflix declined to say when it might launch service Down Under, which has been the source of months of speculation. “We have global rights for a number of shows and nothing to announce about Australia or other countries,” a rep said. “We are all about Europe this week.”
Analysts estimated Netflix’s entry into Australia would occur in the second half of 2015, as it continues international rollouts in stages.
Australia, notwithstanding relatively high levels of piracy, is an attractive market for Netflix, with an estimated 6.4 million broadband households, according to Janney & Co. analyst Tony Wible. That’s akin to smaller European countries like the Netherlands; however, Australian consumers spend more on video (an average of about $58 monthly), well above that in Europe and Latin America, the analyst wrote in a note.
“We view the potential entry into this country as attractive in its own right, but moreover it could be a strategic move to get a foothold into the broader Asia-Pacific region, where we think a significantly bigger opportunity awaits,” Wible said.
This summer, reports surfaced that Netflix execs had visited Australia and have discussed licensing deals with studios for the country.
Similar to the U.K and Canada, where Netflix has shown strong growth, Australia has one dominant pay-TV provider, Foxtel, according to Stifel analyst Ben Mogil. “Netflix’s successful experience in the U.K. and Canada was predicated on markets where the major studios had output deals entirely with one pay-TV provider, leaving many films in the market either lacking distribution or receiving relatively low terms for its content given the limited competition for content,” Mogil wrote in a research note.
The biggest SVOD player currently operating in Australia, Quickflix, has complained that Netflix isn’t playing fair — referring to the reported 200,000 Aussies who already subscribe to Netflix and access the U.S.-based service via virtual private networks that bypass geoblocking restrictions.
“If you want Netflix to compete in Australia come through the front door,” Quickflix CEO Stephen Langsford wrote in an open letter to Netflix topper Reed Hastings, released Monday. “Instead you’re currently enjoying a free ride in Australia ignoring unauthorised ‘back door’ access to your US service and thereby taking revenue away from local services which are investing to service the local market and endeavouring to provide choice and competition to consumers.”
Meanwhile, last month Foxtel cut the price of its basic cable TV package in half, to $25 (Australian) per month — a move analysts see as a preemptive response to a potential Netflix launch Down Under, per the Sydney Morning Herald.