Netflix now has more than a million subscribers here in Australia, reaching more than 2.7 million Australians in the process, according to new research data from Roy Morgan. Meanwhile, Australian streaming platform Stan appears to be catching up, gaining 100,000 new subscribers in December alone.
Netflix, first launched in March, at first had a stellar growth rate that easily allowed it to be the market leader here in Australia. However, the growth has slowed to a crawl in the last quarter, with only 67,000 new subscribers signing up to the all-you-can-eat streaming service. Netflix had been averaging 150,000 new subscribers on a monthly basis earlier in the year, but as market saturation sets in, Netflix's growth has slowed significantly.
In comparison, Stan, co-owned by the Nine Network and Fairfax, gained 100,000 new subscribers in December alone, and another 75,000 in January so far, bringing the total number of subscribers to 700,000. That's still some ways behind Netflix's 1,035,000 (as of the end of December), at this rate, it won't be long before Netflix will be looking over its shoulders for fear of a surging Stan.
What the data doesn't show is how many subscribers are signing up to more than one streaming service. At less than $19 per month for both Netflix and Stan, many may be opting for both services and still come out ahead compared a Foxtel subscription, the cheapest of which costs $25 per month.
Foxtel co-owned Presto (with co-owners Seven and Ten), however, is in third place. This may be due to Presto's higher sign-up cost, up to $15 per month for both TV and movie packages (or available separately for $10 per month).