Netflix Argues Australia isn't 'Getting Screwed'

In a speech to Goldman Sach's Communacopia Conference (an actual name that a person was ostensibly paid to come up with), Netflix's chief financial officer rolled his eyes at the suggestion users in Australia aren't getting a fair deal from the streaming giant.

"I think there's a general meme that whether it's a European consumer, an Australian consumer, an Asian consumer gets screwed relative to the US," David Wells told the audience in New York. He argued the criticisms about Australia's offering being lacklustre was "absolutely inaccurate."

Comparing the US' Netflix library to Australia's highlights a huge gap though—just in terms of TV, American audiences have access to 1,157 shows, whereas Australians get just 443. The difference in the film selection is equally stark, with Australians still waiting, hoping for Frozen to be added to the local library.

Admittedly, Netflix does cost less in Australia—its standard package comes in at AU $8.99 a month, whereas US customers are paying around AU $13 a month. But even at those prices, Australia's offering is still around half of what would be considered "fair."

Some users have noted the local selection is improving, with titles like City of God, Kill Bill Vol 1 & 2, and—perhaps most importantly—the Spy Kidsfranchise all being added this month. But Australia and New Zealand's growing frustration with Netflix has started impacting the company's bottom line. In April, its quarterly report showed disappointing results—something the streaming service squarely blamed on a flatline of subscriber growth from the region.

Wells also pointed to this as a problem, but again deflected the blame away from Netflix to the user. He said Australian and New Zealander subscribers should stop sharing passwords but admitted there was really little they could do to stop it. "If they don't use it within the terms of use we're unhappy about it," he said. "We could crack down on it, but you wouldn't certainly turn all those folks to paid users."

There does seem to be some hope, with Wells promising, "We want to continue growing the content library both within the US and outside the US." Before the end of the year, Netflix is set to spend AU $6.6 billion on TV and movie offerings.

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