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Research shows the streamer had 30 percent of Australia’s 22.1 million total subscribers in August, with Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video each taking a share of 17 percent.
By Patrick Brzeski
Asia Bureau Chief
Netflix has maintained a significant subscriber lead over rivals Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video in Australia, Asia-Pacific’s most mature online video market. Increasingly, though, all platforms down under are pivoting towards the new top metric of profitability rather than simple subscriber growth.
A new report from regional consultancy Media Partners Asia found that Australia had 22.1 million premium video subscribers as of the end of August, up from 19.4 million at the same time in 2021. Netflix claimed 30 percent of the pie, according to MPA, with Disney+ and Prime Video each taking a 17 percent share. Local operators Foxtell OTT bundle (which includes Kayo, Binge and Foxtel Now) and Stan trailed with 12 percent and 11 percent shares, respectively.
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“As the Australian SVOD market matures, platforms are increasingly focused on monetization. Netflix, Binge, Kayo and Stan have all raised prices over the past year and lower-cost, ad-supported tiers are expected from Netflix, Disney+ and potentially Amazon as platforms look to unlock new revenue streams,” said Vivek Couto, MPA’s executive director.
Competition has also begun to hit Australia’s local streaming operators. The market share of Stan, now wholly controlled by Australia’s Nine Entertainment, saw its share of streaming minutes shrink from 18 percent in 2021 to 8 percent in August of this year, as competition for first-window U.S. TV dramas intensified amid Disney and Paramount holding back their content exclusively.
Couto said the changing dynamics “[place] pressure on local general entertainment platforms Stan and Binge to secure popular dramas, while Stan and Foxtel’s Kayo continue to leverage key sports to drive average revenues per users.”
MPA’s research found a significant divergence between subscriber market share and actual video consumption per platform. While Netflix accounts for 30 percent of subscribers in Australia, it claimed a 50 percent slice of premium streaming viewing time. Disney+, meanwhile, has 17 percent of subs but 16 percent of consumption. Prime Video has just 9 percent of viewing time, according to MPA’s reading (most likely due to incentives and dynamics of the Prime e-commerce bundle). Foxtel OTT accounts for 12 percent of subs, with Kayo and Binge totaling a combined 14 percent share of viewing time. Stan, meanwhile, notched just 8 percent of viewing time from its 11 percent share of subs.
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