Its been through tumultuous times, but Quickflix CEO says he’s confident he can take on US giant Netflix.
It is believed up to 200,000 Australians subscribe to Netflix by using sneaky Virtual Private Networks (Frank Underwood would be proud), and there are persistent rumours the service will be available here next year.
But Quickflix boss Stephen Langsford, says it will be ready for the US giant if it lands down under, despite its massive clout.
It has 48 million global subscribers and now has exclusive content like hit series House of Cards starring Kevin Spacey.
“If Netflix is in Australia we’ll be competing with them” he says but insists the local operator has an edge.
“From our perspective, we’re an early player in the space, with lots of momentum and the platform to exploit new technology – Google Chromecast being the most recent addition,” says Langsford. Quickflix TV and movie streaming app currently has under 120,000 users.
“We’ve HBO content they don’t have so we’re confident we can compete.”
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In the past year, the Quickflix content app has been rolled out to Huawei, Xbox One, PS4 devices and the firm entered into deals with Dick Smith and Eagle Boys pizza. Over 300,000 devices are registered on the Quickflix app and is looking to spread its app even further and be completely ‘device agnostic’.
Strategic tie ups with these players will take Quickflix to the next level and grow its customer base, and there are “any number of potential tie ups,” says Langsford.
The challenge for all local media players is to launch Over The Top (OTT) online platforms before Netflix comes.
But he admits, the arrival of the streaming giant could open the market further in Australia – and would be a good thing for the content streaming industry.
“Its a big market opportunity,” he says, referring to the increasing popularity of streaming content on-demand.
Last week, the Perth based content company secures $18 million in funding from private investors, and hired ex 20th Century Fox Pay TV boss David P Smith, to license Hollywood content on its behalf.
