OZ content companies have created the ‘Digital Content Guide’ to help us quickly and easily find free and paid licensed content, rather than pirate.
Australia’s content creators, creators and distributors have created a new ‘Digital Content Guide‘.
Given the explosion of legal ways to watch free and paid licensed content, it is hoped the guide will be a big blow to piracy, given Australia’s status as the world’s biggest TV pirates.
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The Guide is designed to provide a “a quick and easy way for Australians to find and enjoy access to licensed online entertainment services including TV shows, movies, music, eBooks, video games and sport”.
It was created because consumers have been finding it hard to “find [legal] content or to distinguish between sites that offer legal access and those that illegally monetise the hard work of all who contribute to the creative industry”.
The Guide directs visitors to information about different services, which can be clicked to directly to explore and enjoy.
As an example, the Movies and TV section hosts information about content from the following services:
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| Legal Australian Movie and TV show providers – free and paid. |
ABC iView, BBC iPlayer, BigPond Movies, Crackle, Dendy Direct, EzyFlix, FetchTV, Foxtel, Foxtel Go, Foxtel Play, Foxtel On Demand, Google Play, iiNet Fetch TV, iTunes, JB HiFi Now, Ch 9 Jump In, Optus Fetch TV, Presto, QuickFlix, SBS On Demand, 7Plus, Tenplay, YouTube and XBox Video.
Tapping on any of the logos takes you directly to the site in question, after which you then interact with that site as you normally would, whether to watch free licensed content from places like ABC iView or Tenplay, or to buy content from sites such as iTunes or Foxtel Play.
As you’d expect, the site will continue to grow as new devices, platforms, services and content goes live, so that “Australians can find the content they want from a licensed service.”
Simon Burke, President of Actors’ Equity said: “People are passionate about entertainment and we are passionate about creating it. Therefore, it’s critical to ensure that the creative industries receive the support they need, through legitimate use, so that the 900,000 Australians they employ can continue to make them thrive.”
The Digital Content Guide is a joint effort by APRA AMCOS, The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), The Australian Screen Association (ASA), Copyright Agency Ltd., News Corp Limited, Foxtel and Village Roadshow Limited, with Music Rights Australia managing the development of the site.
