Netflix has set its sights on Australia and New Zealand, with a simultaneous launch in the two countries possibly taking place in Q2 2015.
Speaking at MIPCOM and quoted by the Financial Review, Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s chief content officer, did not confirm any possible launch date. However, he said: both Australia and New Zealand are “very attractive territories that are English speaking and love US content”.
Local players are already preparing for the arrival of Netflix, with Foxtel, for instance, launching its own movies on demand service, named Presto, and hoping to enter into a partnership with Seven West Media.
Nine Entertainment Co has meanwhile entered into a streaming joint venture with Fairfax Media named Stream Co that it plans to launch next year.
At the same time, the Australian networks Nine, Seven and Ten have decided to spend more on live content such as sports and news.
Although Netflix does currently not offer this, Sarandos refused to rule it out in the future.
