Aussies have had pay TV for 30 years. But are we any better off?

There are a number of fork-in-the-road moments when looking back on the history of Australian television, one of the biggest influencers and distributors of culture in modern times.

The first was the live switch to colour television during a broadcast of the ABC’s Aunty Jack at midnight on March 1, 1975. But there are two other milestones that changed consumption much more than flicking the colour switch: the launch of streaming services Foxtel and Stan, who celebrate their 30th and 10th anniversaries this year respectively.

The Simpsons was one of the big-name shows on Foxtel when it launched in 1995.

When News Corp and Telstra launched Foxtel in late 1995, it spelled the introduction of pay TV at scale to the Australian public.

Foxtel supersized the possibilities of what was available, adding about 20 more channels to the existing five free-to-air networks. This would include channels such as Showtime, with movies fast-tracking from overseas, and Fox’s The Simpsons, as well as transforming sport, with international sports and the greater availability of local leagues such as the NRL.

It was so successful that in the mid-2010s, one in three households was home to one of Foxtel’s big black IQ boxes, paying about $90 a month for the privilege. But in late 2014, and at the peak of its powers, Foxtel began preparing for the end of its monopoly on premium content.

“We recognise that many Australians feel that Foxtel is too expensive to fit comfortably into their budget,” said Foxtel’s then-chief executive Richard Freudenstein, while cutting subscription fees ahead of a rumoured local launch for American streaming giant Netflix.

John Howard officially launches the new Foxtel studios at North Ryde in 2006 with (from left) Antonia Kidman, Maggie Tabberer and Ian Thorpe. Credit: 2006

However, it turned out Netflix wasn’t the first streamer to crash Foxtel’s party. That honour went to locally owned Stan, which launched on January 26, 2015, a couple of months ahead of Netflix’s debut in March.

Available at a much cheaper price point and coinciding with the rise of laptops, tablets, smart TVs and smartphones, what we now know as “streaming services” redefined access to the best shows globally.

Stan launched with the exclusive distribution rights to the Breaking Bad spin-off Better Call Saul, the latter airing on Foxtel, and it also announced a number of output deals with US studios, as well as commissioning its first original series, No Activity.

Stan, like Netflix, was a beneficiary of being an early mover, but more competitors soon launched, with Amazon Prime Video in 2016, Disney+ and Apple TV+ in 2019 and Paramount+ in 2021 joining the streaming party.

Breaking Bad spin-off Better Call Saul, starring Bob Odenkirk as slimy lawyer Saul Goodman, was one of Stan’s first international acquisitions.

Foxtel, in a bid to diversify and secure its future amid an exodus of customers to cheaper streamers, launched Binge in 2020, making use of its ongoing distribution rights to major shows. It also introduced Kayo, meaning sports fans would no longer have to pay for a full Foxtel subscription to watch all AFL and NRL games, alongside about 50 other sports.

Fast-forward to 2025, and the disruptors have disrupted, and internationally owned services rule the local roost. Foxtel will soon no longer be owned by News Corp and Telstra after agreeing to a deal to sell to British streamer DAZN in December, nor is it known for its costly set-top boxes.

And in the content arms race, the local players are always going to struggle against the cashed-up international giants. Few Australian programs dominate the popular conversation, with Netflix’s Squid Game and Baby Reindeer, as well as HBO’s White Lotus and Succession, all critical and popular hits.

In 2020, Stan switched its strategy to make more Australian shows, such as Bump, Black Snow and Scrublands, to combat the arrival of international players, and while it continues to be a profitable business, it is now expanding further into sports after failing to grow its subscription base significantly.

Kristin Davis, John Corbett, Sarah Jessica Parker and Cynthia Nixon in And Just Like That ....Credit: Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

And while Binge hitched its wagon to the success of major international shows such as And Just Like That... and House of the Dragon from US studio HBO, it looks increasingly challenged with the arrival of Max, another new US streaming service in the coming months, which will likely take those shows away.

With more choice, however, comes more cost. Australians now spend an average of $63 a month on digital subscriptions and have an average of 2.1 subscription video services, according to Deloitte.

Anecdotally, most people opt for a “Netflix-plus-one” model, with about 6 million Australians subscribing to Netflix, and then usually one other, cycling through different services depending on what shows have been released.

Recently, my partner and I were recommended The Agency on Paramount+, taking out a subscription and sticking around after trying out the Billy Bob Thornton and John Hamm-led Landman, an insight into the dirty world of the oil and gas in Texas.

This switching around places subscription services in a precarious position but puts a greater emphasis on making great stuff for us to watch more often.

As well as giving Australians access to a wide variety of shows, streaming has also changed what we see on our free-to-air networks, which have struggled to keep up with the costs of making locally made, scripted content.

For people who either can’t justify the cost of streaming or don’t want to pay, the offerings on free-to-air television have become increasingly predictable, led by reality shows, news and live sport, with limited amounts of Australian drama.

By and large, the ABC and Stan are the local media companies continuing to produce Australian scripted drama or comedy at scale, while the major commercial networks’ programming is led by the likes of Married at First Sight, Australian Survivor, The Block and Australian Idol, which continue to be popular, but certainly aren’t for everyone.

Sam Corlett as Marshall and Michael Dorman as his father, Graham, in Netflix’s Territory, which was a huge hit overseas,

The streamers continue to produce Australian-made shows such as Heartbreak High, Boy Swallows Universe and Territory on Netflix or NCIS: Sydney on Paramount+, which prove popular with international audiences. But the planned policy by the Labor government to force them to make more Australian shows has been delayed indefinitely.

Numbers from the Australian Communications and Media Authority offer a snapshot of where Australians are watching TV in 2024.

Seven in 10 Australians said they watched streaming services in the past week, a new high according to the ACMA, while the number watching free-to-air television continued to drop, now at just 46 per cent. The number of Australians using free-to-air streaming or catch-up services such as 10Play and ABC iview stagnated in 2024, sitting at 43 per cent after several years of growth.

So, are we better off? There is no way to give a definitive answer, but 30 years on, paid streaming services have brought more choice than ever before, but has it been at the cost of local entertainment?

Stan is owned by Nine, the publisher of this masthead.

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