Costly Netflix ‘at tipping point’ with Aussie viewers
Subscribers ‘find it difficult to justify’ the streaming giant’s premium plan, now more than double what it cost when first offered to the nation in 2015.
Streaming powerhouse Netflix is approaching a “critical tipping point” in Australia, with local households shunning the entertainment service’s expensive ad-free tier after yet another price hike in the September quarter.
According to data to be released on Monday by global audience measurement company Kantar, Netflix’s Australian subscribers are “finding it difficult to justify the cost of the service” which upped the monthly fee for its ad-supported, standard, and premium plans in August, thus cementing its position as the nation’s most expensive streaming brand.
The price rise was the sixth time that Netflix has lifted the cost of its subscriptions since it entered the Australian market in 2015, according to Kantar, and the latest data reveals the “net satisfaction” of the platform’s local users has slipped over the course of 2025.
“The decline is largely driven by ad-free SVoD (subscription video on demand) subscribers, where satisfaction fell to just 15 percentage points, now well below the category average of 20 percentage points,” the report states.
“This indicates that Netflix may be approaching a critical tipping point, where subscribers are finding it difficult to justify the premium cost of the service. Churn rose from 6 per cent in Q2 2025 to 7.7 per cent in Q3 – with a further 8.5 per cent of customers planning to cancel their subscription in the next three months.”
Netflix subscriptions are offered across three categories: standard plan with ads ($9.99 per month), standard plan (which allows streaming on two screens with no ads for $20.99 per month), and premium plan (four screens ad-free for $28.99 per month).
The premium plan has more than doubled in price since it was first offered to the Australian market in 2015.
“We’re seeing a clear shift in the market where ‘value’ has become the most important driver for Australian households,” Kantar senior partner Andrew Northedge told The Australian. “The explosive 77 per cent growth (year-on-year) in ad-supported subscriptions and the significant traction of FAST (free add-supported streaming) services demonstrate that consumers are no longer willing to stack premium, ad-free plans. They are actively seeking cheaper alternatives to manage their entertainment budgets.”
The report states that Netflix’s strong content slate was its “saving grace”, and was reflected by the platform’s net satisfaction rating which was well above any other major streaming service at +38 per cent.
“Netflix is betting that its popular originals are sticky enough to offset this growing frustration with cost,” Mr Northedge said.
The Kantar report follows last week’s announcement by the Albanese government that streaming services in the Australian market will be required to invest in local programming under legislation to be introduced shortly.
Streamers such as Netflix will be compelled to invest at least 10 per cent of their total spend for Australia – or 7.5 per cent of the revenue from locally produced shows – back into Australian TV.
Under that scenario, Netflix, which is understood to have some six million subscribers in Australia, would be forced to spend almost $100m in quota payments when taking into account its reported $1.3bn local profit, minus expenditure, in 2024.
Arts Minister Tony Burke said the plan would bring streaming TV into line with free-to-air and pay-TV, which also have content requirements.
Other findings from the Kantar report show Paramount+ had the largest share of new subscribers in Q3 2025 at 13 per cent, followed by HBO Max in its second quarter of operating in Australia with a share of 11 per cent; Stan Sport’s new subscriber share more than trebled quarter-on-quarter following its acquisition of the English Premier League rights from Optus Sport.; and FAST services rose 39 per cent.
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