Choice study: New streaming services cut Aus online piracy by 25%

A survey by consumer advocacy group Choice has provided figures that Australians are increasingly opting for the legitimate new streaming services that entered the market this year, and are shifting from pirate sites.

The data also supported Choice’s long time argument that widening content availability and cheaper pricing are key to tackling online piracy.

The 2015 Choice Piracy Survey found a link between the March 31 arrival of Netflix and Australian services as Stan (January 26) and Presto (January 26) and a move away from piracy sites. The new services this year increased subscription and pay-per-view usage in the last six months from 46% to 59%. In the same period, the monthly volume of downloading of pirated movies and TV shows dropped by 3%, from 23% to 17%.

"The fact is the number of people regularly pirating in Australia has dropped by a quarter since Netflix launched," said Choice Campaigns Manager Erin Turner.

"This proves once again that making content affordable and easily available is the first and most effective tactic to reduce piracy – not a draconian internet filter and notice scheme. As a nation we are keen to pay for legal content."

Choice again reiterated its stand that the Federal Government’s push for an industry code and a three-strikes policy would be ineffective.

The study found that the amount of Australians who refuse to stream or download movies and TV shows illegally is now 70%, compared to 67% in 2014.

But its data also backed up the Government’s call for tougher measures. Of the 1,010 users surveyed, those who regularly pirate insisted that they would not be deterred by the Government’s move to block pirate sites.

54% defiantly maintained they’d simply find another site if one was closed, and 49% will find other methods to unblock or circumvent the block. Almost half (46%) pirate just as regularly since the legal services arrived, and 14% said they did it more often. But Choice pointed out that regular pirates also spent more than the average consumer on legitimate content services.