A decade ago, Australia was one of the worst nations for online piracy.
The main driver of this piracy was a lack of affordable and timely content for Australians.
As a result, Australians were compelled to resort to illegally downloading movies and television episodes via BitTorrent and other file-sharing programs.
The landscape transformed when Netflix entered the Australian market in 2015 alongside local competitors such as Stan.
When content became widely available for a low monthly subscription, the number of Australians who pirated movies and television fell dramatically.
Over the past decade, streaming services for television, music, and video games have proliferated.
Canstar Blue lists 14 distinct video streaming services in Australia. Most have also raised their pricing in recent years.
The market is about to welcome another major player, Warner Bros Discovery.
Warner Bros Discovery advised that its Max streaming service will launch in Australia on 31 March. Consumers will be offered the option of a premium, standard or advertising-supported subscription, although pricing has yet to be announced.
Warners Bros Discovery executive JB Perette says Australia represents one of the company’s biggest new markets and a “significant opportunity”.
However, much of the HBO content on Foxtel’s Binge streaming service will shift to Max, further fracturing content.
Australians are spoilt for choice, and many are upset by the sheer number of options available and the rising costs of watching television and movies.
A 2023 YouGov study of 1000 Australians over 18 found that 43% were dissatisfied with the number of entertainment platforms they pay for each month, resulting in over $6 billion in annual subscription payments. The figure would be higher today.
Two-fifths of Australians also thought that subscription-based television was not good value.
As a result, Australians are again resorting to online piracy.
In May 2024, the Attorney-General’s department released data showing that 4 in 10 Australians had consumed content in a “likely unlawful” way in the past 12 months.
Piracy will likely rise as the number of subscription services increases alongside costs.
Australians do not need to subscribe to various music subscription services to access their favourite performers. They can only subscribe to one (such as Spotify or YouTube Music).
In contrast, consumers of television and movie services must subscribe to several platforms, which have gotten increasingly expensive as the number of services has grown and membership fees have climbed.
Australians have reached their limit with video streaming and will again turn to piracy via file sharing to access their favourite television shows and movies.
