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Bold plans for the future of Netflix's main Australian rival were set up as a result of a major media upheaval
Stan's subscription video-on-demand service was an inducement key to Nine in her historic $ 4.2 billion takeover. Fairfax Media, announced last week
Although the exact implications of the agreement are not yet clear, this will have huge ramifications for Aussie TV.
Stan has already accumulated about a million subscribers, attracted by popular series. as Better Call Saul The Office and Parks and Recreation .
However, it is understood that the new general manager Hugh Marks wants to double his subscribers to two million to try to catch up with the streaming giants Foxtel and Netflix, which has about 3.9 million Australian subscribers, according to the Telsyte study firm.
It is unclear how Stan, who is now being held 50-50 by Fairfax Media and Nine Entertainment, will reach this. However, media experts say that fans of in-depth journalism, documentaries, crime series and sports might be lucky as they try to differentiate themselves from their rivals.
"Stan is now the last Australian soldier on subscription" Marc C-Scott, media specialist, told news.com.au.
"One of the most important things to which they will have to think, it's how they see themselves in the market.They can not just replicate what Netflix does. "
He says that Netflix has already built a" solid foundation "in Australia and that it is here to stay.
"They will need to differentiate one way or another," he said. "It could be around their programming, they could look into the sport, they now have tennis, and Seven did some interesting things with tennis when they had it."
WHAT'S NEXT? Will it come up now?
Another point of disagreement for Stan's new co-owners is how it will work with Nine's on-demand streaming service 9 Now.
" It'll be interesting how they see both, "said Mr. C-Scott." Do they leave 9 Now that the free service where you miss something on Channel 9 so you can watch it for may -be a week via 9 Now and he goes to Stan through a paywall?
"Or do they use Stan as a premium service where you can view some of these contents before they are broadcast on Nine?
" If they take the angle of the sport Foxtel will be their biggest competitor and if they go down the road of content, then Netflix is their competitor. "
If Stan were to face Netflix and fight against series and movies, they might be able to gain ground where the market leader is lacking.
" They could fund Australian content, because Netflix currently buys Australian content, but will not necessarily finance it, "said MC-Scott
OPTIONS ON THE TABLE
Telsyte's director, Foad Fadaghi, said Stan would be vital to success of new merged company
"Greater Stan could invest" In fact, content is more important and shareholders may even benefit, "he said. "The penetration of video-on-demand subscription has not reached the level of the United States or the United Kingdom, the continued growth of Stan and other suppliers is expected in Australia."
One of the options on the table for Stan is to bring another American player like Hulu – a joint venture with Disney, 21st Century Fox, Comcast and AT & T – to provide content.
However, Mr. C-Scott said that it was unlikely because of the tenacity of Australia's free resorts. "If that happened, it certainly would not be like the Hulu in America, which essentially allows you to watch live TV and record it at the same time," he said. "For this to happen here, Nine, Seven, Ten, SBS and ABC would have to commit to it and they will not do it because they are afraid to share data."
REALLY CRIMES Netflix was hugely successful in broadcasting real crime documentaries such as Making a Murderer and The Staircase and the genre was stimulated locally by the popularity of podcasts of Australian journalists in recent years.
million. C-Scott believes that this could be a grand opening for Stan because he is now under the umbrella of Fairfax – which means that he could use his print, radio and screen journalistic flair for the series on Stan.
"They could say, 'You did a very good story out there and produce it in a documentary, so they could put it on Stan for subscribers, and then weeks or months later. later, it could be broadcast in clear, "he said.
"Real crimes and documentaries are something that works really well for Netflix but they do not have the Australian (angle), that Stan could provide if he drew from his talent of the new company. "
M. Marks said the merger "would add another dimension" to the media landscape.
The operating dynamics allowed us to invest in the future of our business through digital publishing and, of course, from Stan, "he said. he declares.
"This merger with Fairfax will add another dimension, creating a platform, media, that will reach more than half of Australia every day on television, online, print and radio.
"For our audiences and employees, this means we will continue to invest in high-end local content – news, sports, entertainment and lifestyle."
Fairfax CEO Greg Hywood said this decision would allow the "continuation of our quality journalism".
Foxtel partly belongs to News Corp., publisher of news.com.au
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