Channelnews : netflix grows pay and subscription tv market while foxtel holds its ground

Netflix is luring customers to the market, with Roy Morgan data showing that almost one in three Australian households now have some form of pay or subscription TV, up almost 30 per cent

since the start of the year. Netflix is now in 8 per cent of Australian homes, reaching 1.89 million people in July. In January, Foxtel commanded a 95 per cent share of homes with pay or

subscription TV, according to Roy Morgan, however while its market share has fallen since the arrival of Netflix to 76 per cent, its customer base is almost unchanged at 2,346,000. In July,

7.3 per cent of Foxtel’s homes were also subscribing to Netflix, with Roy Morgan noting the consistent number of Foxtel homes, not far below the national figure of 8 per cent, suggests many

customers are, for now at least, trialling Netflix as an add-on to their main pay TV provider. “For many years prior to the arrival of Netflix, total uptake of pay or subscription television

had remained steadily in the region of 25-30 per cent of households, unable to break through to a wider audience,” Tim Martin, Roy Morgan Research general manager – media, commented.

“Clearly, there was plenty of space for the market to grow.   “In just four months, Netflix has expanded the total market up to over a third of all homes. So far, it appears Foxtel hasn’t

been damaged by the arrival of Netflix. It may turn out to be that the two are not direct competitors after all: Foxtel subscribers will view Netflix as an add-on provider, and

non-subscribers were never going to get Foxtel anyway.”