by Don Groves
A new study shows Australians pay less to rent and buy movies digitally than most other major markets.
Video-On-Demand prices for new release and catalogue titles, the most popular form of watching movies digitally, are cheaper in Australia than in the US and the UK. Moreover, Australians pay less to buy movies (Electronic Sell Through) than consumers in the US.
The Australian Home Entertainment Distributors Association commissions global analysts IHS to research VOD and EST prices in the top eight Western markets twice a year. The HIS report for the second quarter of 2016 confirms Australia’s competitive pricing.
AHEDA CEO Simon Bush said: “The average digital movie price data shows again that Australia has some of the cheapest digital movie prices in the world. The argument that we need to offer timely content to Australians at reasonable prices in order to combat piracy is fallacious.
“We have ample data to show that price and availability don’t stop the hard core pirates – in fact this segment is pirating more than ever before.”
With mostly global release dates of tentpole films and digital pricing that is cheaper in Australia than in the US in every category, Bush observes, “The myth that Australians get content later and at higher prices is simply that – a myth. The so-called ‘Australia tax’ pleasingly does not apply to the movie industry.”
The table below compares prices for the second quarter, converted into US dollars:
| EST (SD) | ||
| Australia | UK | US |
| 12.40 new release | 11.05 | 14.34 |
| 8.01 catalogue | 8.75 | 9.60 |
| EST (HD) | ||
| Australia | UK | US |
| 15.00 | 13.85 | 16.58 |
| 9.79 | 10.85 | 14.26 |
| VOD (HD) | ||
| Australia | UK | US |
| 4.53 | 5.15 | 5.61 |
| 3.47 | 4.05 | 3.87 |
| VOD (SD) | ||
| Australia | UK | US |
| 3.93 | 4.07 | 4.43 |
| 2.65 | 2.98 | 2.76 |