Under plans released by Communications Minister Paul Fletcher earlier this month,platforms such as Netflix,Amazon and Disney would be required to invest in Australian content and report annually on expenditure. If these services fail to invest 5 per cent of gross Australian revenue in local content,the scheme would mandate it.
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“That’s a pretty enlightened approach because it keeps you out of the narrow traps on quotas and defining those rules,” Mr Hastings said. “But it’s a marker to the community...you’ve got to step up and do some work here.” For its part,Netflix is already above that mark.
Hastings sat on the board of controversial social media giant Facebook (now Meta) for eight years until 2019. In the past three years,Facebook has faced some of the worst scrutiny in its 18-year history,with widespread public anger over its role in the spread of misinformation and harmful content.
He says the biggest thing he learnt from sitting on the Facebook board was to avoid getting on the bad side of regulators.
“They were four or five times larger than us,so they saw a lot of regulatory issues and other things long before we did,” he says. “It’s really solidified our intent - let’s stay on the right side of what the public expects”.
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When Netflix entered Australia in 2015,there was already one local subscription streaming service. Nine Entertainment Co,the owner of this masthead,and Fairfax Media launched Stan,which now has more than 2.6 million active subscribers,in January 2015.
“It’s quite impressive how Nine and Fairfax went in on Stan early,” he says. “In most countries,nobody was willing to gamble and put in all that capital.”
Stan and Netflix now compete against a wide range of players including Amazon Prime Video,Disney+,Paramount+ and local player Binge (owned by Rupert Murdoch’s Foxtel). Mr Hastings says they can all exist at once provided there is a point of difference.
Locally that difference is the content. Binge holds a contract with HBO,which gives it the rights to broadcast programs such as Euphoria,White LotusandSuccession. Stan has a deal in place with NBC Universal,which gives it programs such asGangs of London andI Hate Suzie (that contract is set to expire mid this year). But Mr Hastings says he anticipates the global streamers will go direct-to-consumer into this market too.
What that means for Foxtel (and its service Binge),as it weighs up whether to progress with a public listing,is unclear. But Mr Hastings says there is still appetite to publicly list a pure-play internet company even in today’s climate.
“There’s a tonne of opportunity as things move from old linear to on-demand and Foxtel has these incredible sports franchises,” he said. “Foxtel will do a lot and invest heavily and so that leads to a lot of competition,a lot of great offers for consumers.”
Like Foxtel and its online service,Kayo Sports,Stan has also tried to enter the live-streaming space. But it’s an area that Mr Hastings says does not suit Netflix.
“We’ve got so much to do in the creative part and sports is just a different dynamic of how you become successful. It’s very national - rugby plays here and not many other places,so it has a lot of different characteristics than drama,and comedy and film.”
Mr Hastings says the competition now lies mostly in creating new programs that young people want to watch - rather than nostalgic sitcoms such asSeinfield,Friends orBrooklyn Nine-Nine.
So,what will Netflix do to compete? Program its heart out. In about a month it will launch one of its most controversial local projects to date -Byron Baes. The show,which was filmed earlier this year on NSW’s North Coast washeavily criticised by locals who felt it misrepresented the area.
At a lunch on Friday,Mr Hastings said he was looking forward to the Australian slate rolling out starting withByron Baes,and seeing how it will please local members. He watched the first episode on the weekend (he hadn’t before this interview). He’ll be hoping you do,too.