Since the COVID-19 crisis first trapped many of us inside our homes indefinitely, life has sometimes felt like nothing more than a stream within a stream. But take comfort in some evidence that we are not alone; research indicates that almost one million Australians subscribed to a new streaming platform since March.
A Roy Morgan study has analysed the recent uptick in subscriptions in comparison to previous years, resulting in data that shows Netflix has earned more customers in the last three months than it did in the entire previous year.
The research also delves into the ever-shifting fortunes of home entertainment companies, proving that the 15.74 million Australians with access to a streaming service are willing to try out a broad variety of platforms.
Netflix‘s dominance over the market was reinforced by the study, subscribed to by approximately 13.28 million Australians. It also found that the most popular combination for subscribers of multiple platforms was Netflix and Stan, the Australian-owned film and TV streamer that currently ranks as the third most watched service in the country.
Even so, new kid on the block Disney Plus, which launched only last November, already has half the viewership numbers of the comparatively older Stan, making it the fastest growing service in Australia. Never underestimate Disney‘s megalomaniacal manipulation of nostalgia in an era where every child (and adult, TBH) is just looking for something comfy to watch while stuck indoors.
Meanwhile, Foxtel was able to also gain from the nation’s subscription service obsession, despite the lack of live sporting events for Foxtel‘s popular sport channels to cover. It earned 658,000 new customers since coronavirus lockdowns were first implemented in March.
If all this is sounding a bit daunting and you feel like you’re missing out on yet more precious hours of bingeable content, be sure to check out our extensive guide to all the streaming service options available to Australians. The options range from the satisfyingly niche to entertainment juggernauts such as Amazon Prime Video and Netflix, meaning there’s truly something for every kind of streamer.
