With most of Australia’s Internet service providers now forced by court action to prevent their customers from downloading movies for free from unauthorised Web sites, Roy Morgan Research says it seems many Australians seem quite happy to pay.
Morgan says some 1.45 million Australians aged 14-plus now buy movies and TV show downloads online in an average three-month period. In the 12 months to September 2016, they spent an estimated $257 million on their downloads – while millions more subscribe to legit streaming services like Netflix and Stan.
Said Morgan CEO Michele Levine: “The Federal Court at the end of last year ordered all Australian ISPs to block their customers from accessing Web sites used to download copyrighted content for free.
“Australians have reportedly long been among the world’s biggest offenders when it comes to piracy. Having consumers blocked from specific ‘torrenting’ sites is a victory for copyright holders and broadcasters – but as other sites and proxies spring up, it may soon become a game of whack-a-mole.”
