Stan has been promising over the last few months that it would be the sole provider of Better Call Saul in Australia when the show first aired. Stan has kept its word.
As of yesterday you can watch the new show, itself a Breaking Bad spin-off, exclusively on the Stan streaming service. The wait for episode 2 will be short; it goes live at 6pm tonight.
It’s an impressive achievement. Stan is a direct competitor for the soon-to-launch Netflix. In many ways it’s so similar to the global streaming behemoth that it’s almost a clone, raising concerns that competing with the already-established world-wide Netflix will be beyond its abilities.
There is now one important differentiator: Netflix has never been known for timely content. It focuses on providing shows and movies that are at best one or two years old as a way of keeping its licencing fees, and thus its subscriber charges, down.
Stan has managed to deliver a Netflix-esque service for $10 a month, and only be a single day behind the US with one of the most anticipated shows of the season.
Those who are used to Netflix’s mammoth library of content may at first find Stan a little spartan. Given that the smaller catalogue is now boosted by newer content, and that Netflix itself has said that its Australian launch may be a little lacklustre in terms of titles, Stan is starting to look like a real contender Down Under.
All it needs to do now is keep up the good work. One timely show is not going to be enough for Stan to topple Goliath, but it's a start.
You can pick Stan up now as a free trial. You won't pay anything for the first month. After that you can unsubscribe, or leave it running and pay $10 per month. Head on over to Stan.com.au to check it out.
Alex Angove-Plumb
Digital Content Editor
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