Fairfax and Nine's subscription-video-on-demand (SVOD) platform Stan has the biggest library of content available in the Australian market, but invariably the SVOD war is about quality rather than quantity.
Consumer-focused data platform Gyde has released a new benchmark survey into the SVOD scene in Australia, finding Stan to have 6089 hours of streamable content, against Netflix Australia's 5748 hours and Presto's 4009 hours.
The raw data means that viewers could spend more than 253 straight days consuming Stan's content, 239 days watching Netflix Australia's content and 167 days watching Presto content – should they want to.
Stan content director Nick Forward previously told AdNews volume was the foundation of SVOD services, but not the key driver of strategy.
“I don't need any single thing that gets tons of people watching,” Forward said.
“What I need is thousands, and thousands, and thousands of shows at my disposal. What I need is each of those to watch a little bit and everyone who signs into the service to feel like there's five to six things that are just for them opposed to just two things that are for everyone.
“Cumulatively you'll have something that gets everyone but you don't have that sort of mass programming that drives million of people to watch at once. It's just not the nature of these kind of services.”
The marketing for each service in the marketplace has also centred around key pieces of content.
For Stan, it was Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad, for Netflix it was its original series such as House of Cards and Orange is the New Black, and for Presto it was its catalogue of HBO content.
Gyde product lead Andrew Julian said the focus on volume in the Australian market, however, was misplaced.
“Complex content licensing deals and market fragmentation means that a comprehensive service, like Spotify is for music, cannot exist for movies and television,” Julian said.
“As Australians start to experience the power of these video-on-demand services, they’re likely to find that just subscribing to one service will not satisfy their entertainment needs.”
“It will not be a winner takes all situation for the platforms and they must compete to ensure they’re part of that mix”.
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