The ‘binge’ has become a common practice among Australian households recently. You’ve probably done it — you get home after a long day at work and decide to unwind by watching your new favourite show through a service like Netflix, Stan or Presto. Once that’s done, you watch another. And then another.
New survey data released by the communications regulator ACMA showed that, overall, we spent an average eight hours a week watching one of the subscription video on-demand (SVOD) services that are seemingly scrambling to the top of the market. Digital natives — the 18-34 year olds — were naturally more glued to the TV, at nearly 10 hours.
That’s the average of course — one in five Aussies who participated in the survey said they watched more than 10 hours a week across SVOD (with three per cent seemingly never leaving the couch…).
I found myself bingeing on video last weekend. Sick and relegated to hiding under covers, I turned on the Apple TV and began watching episode after episode. It wasn’t through Netflix or Stan or Presto, however — I was enamoured with VICE, the youth news channel that has in past weeks published all sorts of interviews and stories from the recent horrific attacks in Paris.
I wouldn’t have been alone. The same ACMA data showed that roughly half of subscribers to one of the online video services watch content through an Apple TV. Though all three major SVOD services obviously have apps for the Apple TV, the little black box opens up a world of entertainment than simply the latest House of Cards episode.
And it’s why I think the current argument around who will win in the Australian SVOD market is all a little moot. Many of these arguments serve merely to show that those involved see SVOD as an analogue of the cable or free to air market.
That same argument has meant that, even before its launch, many have decided that Ozflix, an upcoming SVOD service showing only Australian films, is likely to fail. Of course, it’s unlikely that Ozflix or Indie Muviz — a similar service for Indian movies in Asia — will ever beat Netflix for customer numbers. But nor do they intend to do so.
If the internet has showed us anything, it’s that it has the ability to let 1000 flowers bloom. We are all part of a global, connected community that has interests as diverse and specific as the millions of cultures that sit around the world. And each of those niche interests can be served, all at the same time.
With a device like Apple TV, channel surfing takes on a new meaning. Instead of providing a linear set of the same channels that everyone flicks through, each device is unique to the person or household’s taste in content and variety. They might also love Game of Thrones, but those with a fascination for Aussie movies can watch Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, to their heart’s content.
It’s also why moves from online services to invest in local content like the recent police comedy No Activity on Stan is so important. To let the argument continue that niche content is unnecessary leads down a dark path where Aussie content, by its own definition niche, is no longer important.
The future of online video is more than just subscription video services like Netflix or Stan. They will have a bright future, I have no doubt. But for every person that has an interest in something as niche as Peruvian basket-making or watching paint dry, there will undoubtedly be online videos for them too. One only needs to look at Garage Entertainment, an action sports video service, to show why a relatively small part of the market can be so successful.
To suggest that that there can be only one winner in online video, even in a relatively small market like Australia, is to deprive all those niche audiences a chance to flourish in their own right.
As our video bingeing culture continues to evolve, it’s likely to show us that there’s more to binge than just the next Game of Thrones.
Mark Blair is Vice President, Asia Pacific at Brightcove.