Netflix Oz signs two more US studios

Warner Bros and MGM have signed film and TV licensing deals with Netflix’s Australian service, which launched on March 24.

WB’s Gravity joins Netflix in Oz

Neither agreement has been announced but WB titles including Gravity, Inception and The Vampire Diaries are available via the service.

The MGM catalogue includes The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and TV’s Vikings.

Netflix has also struck a library deal with Icon Films, expanding its relationships with independent distributors after signing Transmission, Madman, Pinnacle and Rialto.

Anecdotally there has been an enthusiastic take-up of Netflix, which is benefiting from being integrated with OTT service Fetch TV’s second-generation set-top box plus telco Optus’s offer of a six-month subscription to broadband customers and quota-free downloads on iiNet.

In its first two days Netflix accounted for 15% of consumer traffic on iiNet, which has nearly one million customers, according to a spokesman for the telco.

Some observers suggestthat Netflix, which is free for 30 days, may already have at least 200,000 sign-ups.

In contrast, Stan, the streaming platform that launched on January 26, reports it has more than 100,000 sign-ups (paid and free).

It is estimated that as many as 200,000 Aussies have used virtual private networks (VPN) to avoid geo-blocking and access the US Netflix.

In Australia last week Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said he was confident the new Australian service would deter viewers from using a VPN to take the US feed.

Australia’s biggest telco, Telstra, today announced customers who take up its new mobile accelerate plans for 24 months will get a free six-month sub to Presto Movies (which Telstra co-owns with dominant pay TV platform Foxtel) and Presto TV (co-owned by Foxtel and Seven West Media).