State of Streaming 2019

With the recent launch of Apple TV+ and the imminent arrival of Disney+, the streaming scene has become very crowded. It's changed rapidly in Australia over the last five years, developing from a fledgling offering from the now-defunct local outfit Quickflix, which started out as a mail out DVD service, adding its TV and movie streaming service. However, it was quickly outflanked by US giant Netflix, which entered Australia in 2015, albeit with a smaller catalogue than its US offering, and people started to tune into the possibilities of streaming.

Back then, Australian platform Stan, owned by Fairfax and the Nine Network, hoped to get the jump on Netflix by coming in just ahead of it. And the now-defunct Presto, a joint venture between Foxtel and the Seven Network, also joined the array of streaming platforms. Very quickly there were a bunch of streaming services and the pattern was repeated in the US and the UK, and it signalled the start of the so called ‘streaming wars’. And let's not forget Amazon Prime Video launched by the online retail behemoth that packaged books, music and free delivery in its plan.

Fast forward to 2019 and Quickflix and Presto are no more, but there are other platforms like Foxtel Now as well as Acorn TV giving Australian viewers plenty to consider when looking for TV and movies to stream.

Apple TV+ has launched with its new series The Morning Show, a fictional behind-the-scene drama about a breakfast TV show, featuring Reece Witherspoon, Jennifer Anniston and Steve Carell. It will also feature history drama For All Mankind, comedy Dickinson and there's a slew of other new series are in the pipeline. Disney+ will open the vault on its extensive library with shows from Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars the vast collection of classic Disney films and the much-anticipated Star Wars TV series The Mandalorian.

For a full rundown of the local as well as US and UK streaming sites, see my guide on my arts and culture blog Some Notes From A Broad.