SUBSCRIPTION The availability of traditional on-demand media in Australia, for most expectations, is still quite poor. The only options available are through subscription services such as Foxtel, which currently offers an additional pay-per-view feature for content requested on-demand. The programs are delivered near instantaneously, but choice is still quite limited to a small selection of films and single episodes from popular television shows. Moreover, this feature is relatively expensive considering it is not included within the subscription itself and runs on data from the viewers’ own broadband connection (Simpson, 2012). Whilst the titles on offer are sometimes released for on-demand on the same day as their release on DVD, this is not true of all titles, and as such, the format risks becoming irrelevant as it misses the opportunity for the distribution of content when it is most desired.
Despite claiming to fast-forward the Australian premieres of some international television shows, the delay is often up to a week long, opening a sizeable period of time for pirates to deliver the same content illegally. Obviously, there exists a bevy of licensing and distribution terms and conditions to be wrangled by the numerous parties involved, but there should be no reason why, in the face online piracy, major subscribers should feel complacent with their current turnover for fresh content. Until these distributors reach a point of instantaneous release for television and films, there is one fewer reason for viewers to choose them over a high-speed internet connection and peer-to-peer network. Next Page ➤ |