Australia’s biggest film distributor, Village Roadshow, has announced its intention to bring down the cost of movie downloads in what is hoped would spark similar action by its competitors.
Village Roadshow announced its intention to bring movie download prices down at the launch of a new Australian Digital Content Guide.
News.com.au reports that Village generates AUD $300M per year from its distribution efforts, with digital sales growing over 20pc per year through stores like Google Play, iTunes and others.
Australian movie prices are often approx $5 more than prices charged in the US, despite Australia’s dollar being back in the US 93c range after being at parity and over at various times during the past 12 months.
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| The Lego Movie is US $19.99 on iTunes and AUD $24.99 in Australia, but may soon be cheaper to download and buy. |
Given the size of Village Roadshow’s operations, it is expected that any such move to lower prices would see competitors follow, leading to cheaper download prices for all Australians.
The news also comes on the heels of community, Choice Magazine and even concern earlier this week from Australia’s Federal Minister for Communications, Malcolm Turnbull, over the high cost of content from Apple, Foxtel and others.
Foxtel itself recently welcomed the Australian Federal Government’s Online Discussion Paper into digital media piracy as well as adding more channels to its Foxtel Play streaming service.
