Presto (company)

Presto
Industry Streaming media
Founded 2014
Headquarters Sydney, NSW, AUS
Area served
Australia
Products Internet streaming
Parent Foxtel (Movies)
Foxtel (50%)/Seven West Media (50%) (Entertainment)
Website Presto website

Presto is an Australian streaming company which offers subscriptions to unlimited viewing of selected movies, and from 2015, TV shows. The service, initially owned wholly by Foxtel, launched on 13 March 2014 featuring films exclusively.[1] There are three separate subscription options for Presto, named Presto Movies, Presto TV, and bundled option Presto Entertainment.

Presto Movies

The service initially launched contract-free on 13 March 2014 at AU$19.99,[1] but was lowered to AU$9.99 in August 2014.[2] Films tend to be mostly recent releases, and come from Foxtel's suite of Foxtel Movies channels, who have relationships with studios including MGM, NBCUniversal, Paramount Pictures, Roadshow Films, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox, The Walt Disney Company, Warner Bros Entertainment, Hopscotch Entertainment One, ICON, Studiocanal and Transmission Films.[3] Roughly 5 months after launch, it was suggested Presto Movies was struggling, with only "a few thousand subscribers".[4]

Presto TV

On 8 December 2014, Foxtel and Seven West Media announced a spin-off of Presto Movies to launch before March 2015, to be named Presto Entertainment, which will feature television programs, with content coming from both Foxtel channels and the Seven Network. The existing Presto Movies service will continue to be available, but each will require a separate subscription.[5] It became available on 15 January 2015, and was named Presto TV, with Presto Entertainment referring to the bundled offer for both movies and TV access at $14.99[6]

It will compete against Australian streaming company Quickflix, American based Netflix and the Fairfax Media/Nine Entertainment Co. joint venture Stan.

Australian content made available from Foxtel will include Wentworth, Satisfaction, Love My Way, Spirited, and Tangle. Local Seven Network content includes Packed to the Rafters, All Saints, City Homicide, Home and Away, Winners & Losers and Always Greener. Foreign content will include Mr Selfridge, Lewis, A Touch of Frost and Rosemary and Thyme. Aquarius will join Presto after it premieres on the Seven Network.[7]

Presto will also have exclusive access to HBO programming including Entourage, The Sopranos and Boardwalk Empire, with the notable exception of Game of Thrones.[8]

A non-exclusive deal was also reached with Showtime, which includes programs such as Ray Donovan, Dexter, Californication, however these programs will also feature on rival service Stan.[8]

Since May 2015, Presto has started offering Australian premiere content. Such shows include Aquarius,[9] Bitten, The Firm, Matador and Rogue.[10][11]

Presto Entertainment

While Presto Entertainment was initially the name for the service's TV only offering, upon its launch on January 15, it was revealed Presto Entertainment would be the bundled option for both the movies and television package.

Marketing

In May 2015, Roy Morgan Research found that Netflix had 1.039 million Australian users, compared to 97,000 for Presto and 91,000 for Stan.[12] In October 2015, Nine Entertainment said that Stan had 150,000-200,000 paying subscribers, which they said was ahead of Presto's estimated 100,000 customers.[13]

Presto Entertainment costs $14.99 per month, which analysts noted is more expensive than rivals Netflix and Stan, which don't differentiate between film and television programming on their service.[14][15]

References

  1. 1 2 Campbell Simpson (24 February 2014). "Foxtel's New Presto Movie Service Launching On March 13". Gizmodo. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  2. Angus Kidman (15 August 2014). "Foxtel's Presto Movie Streaming Halves Price To $9.99 A Month". Lifehacker. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  3. "Foxtel unveils Presto movies streaming service". Foxtel. 26 February 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  4. Adam Turner (15 August 2014). "Foxtel slashes Presto movies to $9.99 p/m". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  5. "Foxtel and Seven West combine to fight Netflix and Stan with Presto Entertainment". news.com.au. 8 December 2014. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  6. "Presto switches on its TV streaming service". cnet. 15 January 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  7. "A Place to Call Home absent as Presto announces first wave of TV shows". Mumbrella. 10 December 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  8. 1 2 Alex Hayes (15 December 2014). "Presto picks up HBO content but Game of Thrones ‘won’t not be available on SVOD services worldwide’". Mumbrella. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
  9. Knox, David (10 May 2015). "Airdate: Aquarius". TV Tonight. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  10. Knox, David (1 June 2015). "Presto adding new titles Rogue, The Firm, Bitten". TV Tonight. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  11. Healey, Nic (1 May 2015). "What's new on Australian streaming services in May 2015". CNET. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  12. "Netflix wins the streaming battle with 1m users – ten times more than rivals Presto and Stan". Mumbrella. 23 June 2015.
  13. "Stan's paying subscribers revealed". if.com.au.
  14. Alex Hayes (15 January 2015). "Presto Entertainment launches for $14.99 a month". Mumbrella. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  15. Angus Kidman (15 January 2015). "Foxtel's Presto TV Streaming Is Overpriced And Lacking Content". Gizmodo. Retrieved 15 January 2015.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, November 16, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.