Netflix has reached an interesting point, it probably reached that point a while ago. The majority of value Netflix has is from its ever growing collection of content produced exclusively for Netflix.
The back catalog or library content is shrinking, more titles are being removed quicker than new ones are being added. The overall value is still very high, but most of that is from original content.
Netflix is no longer the first place I look for content.
Stan has done some interesting work with content. They have now produced an exclusive show, but where they are being quite smart is in the procurement of exclusive content for the Australian market. Better Call Saul was its first big exclusive, and since then they’ve worked bringing Amazon Prime content to Australia like Transparent.
Most recently they’ve had the Sherlock: The Abominable Bride special and even the little ‘making of’ that would have been on the DVD as an extra.
One question that I do have is ‘Would Stan do better if it had bandwidth deals with major ISPs like Netflix?’ Australia is bandwidth limited. We all have slow internet with limited monthly data caps. Not quite as bad as the Ziggy days of Telstra 3GB/month cable modems, but unlike the rest of the world we need to monitor and track our downloads.
Netflix has done a lot of work to ensure people can watch Netflix and not have it count towards their monthly usage. Similar to Telstra and Foxtel (cough conflict of interest cough).
Stan does not have this same advantage. Does this mean that they are competing on a level playing field? Is this simply an area where there can be competition between services?
Net Neutrality is important. It mean that every packet should be treated equally. It doesn’t mean that ISPs shouldn’t be able to manage their networks. But it does mean that services should compete on an equal footing, on content and user experience, not on what ISPs want to offer.