Crossing the streams
Streaming has taken over our viewing so rapidly and totally that it’s easy to forget that Netflix launched here only five years ago. Prior to that, tech-savvy Australians resorted to VPNing US Netflix into their Australian homes (and many still do), until the official launch brought the promise of legal local relief, especially for Aussies who had been forking out more than $100 a month to Foxtel in order to enjoy all that television had to offer.
But now the streams are multiplying. Let’s say you want everything on offer today — all the major Australian services at the best available picture quality: Netflix, Stan, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube Premium, 10 All Access and Hayu, along with newcomers Disney+ and Apple TV+. You’d be up for $93 every month, and that’s before you cough up for any form of Foxtel, sign up for a streaming sports service like Kayo or Optus Sport, or shell out for a streaming music subscription. In some ways, we’re back to where we started.
What we’ve gained, of course, is on-demand access to a vast catalogue of content. But even this has a
