Presented by Michael McMahon, Ramon Lobato and Jock Given on Friday 24 July 2015.
The last quarter of 2014 and the early months of 2015 might turn out to be a decisive time for the medium we call television. In a single week in October, US networks CBS and HBO both announced online-only subscription video services. The New York Times declared it 'a watershed moment for web-delivered television', a move by two titans of traditional TV that signalled 'how rapidly the balance of power is shifting in the television landscape'. In Australia, the TV market was very different, but online subscription video services seemed to be arriving 'all at once' as well. Foxtel launched the Presto online movie service in March 2014, halved its price in August, brought in Seven West Media as a partner in December, and added TV programs to it in January 2015. Nine Entertainment joined with Fairfax Media to launch the online video service Stan on Australia Day. Two months later, global operator Netflix started its Australian service. Like the beginning of TV itself in 1956, two decades after services began in the UK and Germany, Netflix arrived in Australia fully formed, a successful global service with massive brand recognition. Australia's TV networks were suddenly online video start-ups trying to create awareness for new brands in their own backyards. The outsider, Netflix, was already at home. This seminar will bring together a practitioner and two researchers to discuss this critical time for TV and video in Australia and elsewhere.