Online entertainment services such as Netflix, Apple TV, Google Play, and iTunes are all names we recognize and allow us to watch or catch up with our favourite TV shows such as Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead and Orange is the New Black. They play an essential part in our lives so we can keep abreast of the latest goings on. How else would we know what’s happening with Khalessi and her dragons if it wasn’t for HBO? Perish the thought!
The price we pay for these services is pretty reasonable, but for those living down under, things aren’t quite so Grouse!
According to research by the Australian consumer advocacy group Choice, Australians are paying up to 431 per cent more to watch Season 2 of the Netflix series Orange is the New Black through the Australian pay television company Foxtel, and pay 219 per cent more than what Netflix customers pay in the US. Yes, strewth indeed!
The Australia tax
“The Australia tax “is a term used in Australia to describe the premium they pay for a range of different goods and services, both physical and nonphysical compared to identical products sold in other countries. Companies like Foxtel are able to take advantage and charge users more to access digital content, like Netflix due to lack of competition.
Speaking to ABC News 24, Kirkland said consumers are paying too much for digital content, he said “Our view is it's legal. People who have a US Netflix account are paying for access to that content.”
However, some members of major entertainment studios including Twentieth Century Fox and Sony Pictures who are represented by The Australian Home Entertainment Distributors Association (AHEDA) want to block users or even ban users who use a VPN (Virtual Private Network) to gain access to Netflix. These companies want the use of VPNs made illegal, because they are losing money, due to licensing costs and how rights are handled for TV shows and movies.
Foxtel are concerned that they will lose business if Australians access online streaming services and they have been campaigning the government to defend its business interests. However, speaking to the Daily Mail, Choice chief executive officer Alan Kirkland sees this more of an act of “local middlemen wanting to clip the ticket on popular overseas content rather than respond to changing technology and deliver affordable content online.”
Now an Australian government appointed panel wants to see the use of VPNs (Virtual private networks) legalised to get around high premiums for services. A draft report from the Competition Policy review stated that Australians should be able to use technology such as VPNs to bypass geo-restricted goods, and services like Netflix and iTunes.
At HMA we believe that everyone has the right to access geo-restricted content that they have legally paid for. Charging exorbitant prices for the same content just because you don’t live in the right country, is wrong.
Use a VPN to access videos from any country
A VPN is a perfectly legitimate way of accessing geo-restricted to watch TV and movies. When you connect to one of our Pro VPN servers, you are assigned a different IP address, which is very handy if you want to access geo-restricted content. For example, if you live in the United Kingdom and want to watch a movie or TV series being shown in the States, just connect to a US VPN server. At HMA! we have servers all around the world, including 319 servers in the United States making it easy for you to watch online content.
Price discrimination doesn’t just take place in Australia. You can pay a higher or a lower price for goods and services depending on where you live in the world. For example, price discrimination is applied when you purchase airplane tickets - check out my previous post “Use a VPN to save money on your airfares!”
The final report will be submitted to the Australian government in March 2015, and we at HMA! will be closely monitoring the outcome.
For more information about HMA! Pro VPN, please visit our website.
