Times might be getting tighter, but it seems Australians would rather ditch eating out and a drink or two before they give up Netflix and the like.
Interest rates are going up and supermarket shopping prices with them, not to mention the cost of technology, as well.
While telcos increased their costs in the middle of the year and Apple updated the cost of the iPad range last week, the services we rely on as essential media and entertainment also have seen increases in recent times, but that might not stop us from watching, and ultimately from paying.
Australians have a pretty large selection of places to get entertainment from at home and to-go, with an assortment of free-to-air and paid-for services, but recent research from Deloitte has shown that while prices are on the increase, Aussies seem unlikely to give up their love for services. Rather, Deloitte’s 11th annual media survey points out that many of us are more likely to give up something else in exchange to keep watching and keep listening.
The survey, which covered 2000 Australians, noted that 84 percent had at least one digital entertainment subscription, with younger audiences in Generation Z having between four and five. Over half (64 percent) of those surveyed were concerned by having multiple subscriptions, with just under half (46 percent) making a habit of reviewing and checking their subscriptions, possibly giving a look at how complacent we might be over these costs.
However 46 percent also said that would accept roughly 12 minutes of ads per hour in exchange for a free on-demand subscription, something that keeps free-to-air digital services an option, and will be interesting to see whether Netflix’s upcoming ad-supported tier is liked locally when it launches later this year.
The report paints a picture on how much Australians are happy to spend on, with an average of $62 for a monthly digital entertainment spend, with millennials and Gen-Z covering the most, at $84 and $82 monthly respectively. Most of that goes to movie and TV services, with music in the next spot.
All up, Australians have apparently gone up in the amount of services they pay subscriptions for, moving up from 2.3 per household last year to an average of 3.1 this year, even as the costs rise.
It’s a problem many of us will feel, and one Deloitte’s survey found will see entertainment one of the last things to be cut. Specifically, eating out, alcohol, and tobacco will likely be the first things people consider cutting before their entertainment spend, with groceries coming just before it, as well.
“Australians are continuing to stack up digital entertainment subscriptions even when budgets get tight with people prepared to give up eating out, alcohol and tobacco before they would give up their subscriptions,” said Deloitte’s Jeremy Smith.
“The upcoming launch of new advertising tiers in what have been traditionally ‘ad free’ subscription video on demand services is likely to change the landscape again however, what’s clear is that a good portion (58 percent) of respondents will pay to keep their SVOD ad-free.”
