Netflix claims traditional television is dying in challenge to rival Foxtel

Updated

Netflix's imminent expansion into the Australian market has seen battlelines drawn, with the international giant warning that traditional television is dying.

In March, Netflix will launch an Australian version of its video on demand service which has 53 million subscribers and involves a fee of about $10 a month in return for new shows and a library of older material.

"I think the model for broadcast TV, where it's this destination stop where you go home at 8 o'clock to watch House Of Cards... that use-by date has probably passed already," Netflix director of corporate communications Cliff Edwards said.

"It's been one of those long-time coming markets.

"We've been dying to get down to both Australia and New Zealand and are looking forward to March."

Netflix's move will trigger fierce competition in the video-on-demand business.

Foxtel has already hit back, planning to expand Presto, its movie-on-demand service, into television.

The company is also believed to be close to announcing a deal with Channel 7.

"There's a lot of hype around Netflix and they have a couple of great fresh shows, but a lot of their content is very, very old library," Foxtel chief Richard Freudenstein said.

If people still want great content to continue to be produced you're going to need to look to the Foxtels and the free-to-airs of the world to be producing and buying that content. Foxtel chief Richard Freudenstein

"Whereas Presto has first-run movies and will have a lot of first-time-on-subscription TV shows as well, so it'll be a very competitive service."

Mr Freudenstein also hit back at the suggestion that the free-to-air and pay television broadcasting models were becoming outdated.

"Netflix is out to get publicity saying things like that. We have a very good business model. We've got very loyal subscribers," he said.

"Our new pricing model has been very well received in the market."

Mr Freudenstein added that subscription video-on-demand would remain to only be a fraction of the overall market.

"If people still want great content to continue to be produced, you're going to need to look to the Foxtels and the free-to-airs of the world to be producing and buying that content, because the subscription and video-on-demand economics just don't work ... there's not enough money to have a lot of great fresh new programming," he said.

Netflix steps up promotion

In their first interview since confirming their entry into Australia, Netflix declined to confirm whether the Australian service would include popular shows House Of Cards and Orange Is The New Black.

"Our challenge is to make sure that we give Australians a lot of great content, a lot of great stuff to watch on the Australian service and we think we can do that," Mr Edwards said.

"We have lots of great originals coming .. and there's a lot of other stuff that we'll be announcing as we go along and I think people will be pleased."

Netflix is heavily promoting the series Marco Polo, which is being filmed and has been reported as being the second most expensive show after Game Of Thrones, which is aired on Foxtel.

"We know we're putting a lot of chips behind it - we think it's a great, great show," Mr Edwards said.

"We think people are going to love it - it's very sweeping, it's got scope, it's world-spanning."

Topics: television, arts-and-entertainment, digital-multimedia, internet-technology, computers-and-technology, australia

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