This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost Australia, which closed in 2021.

Piracy Is Down In Australia As Streaming Services Netflix, Stan And Presto Start Up, But Like Game Of Thrones' Jon Snow, It's Not Dead Yet

The Death Of Piracy Is About As Convincing As The Demise Of Jon Snow

Game of Thrones fans watched Jon Snow die at the end of Season Five, and about that time in Australia, experts foretold a similar fate for piracy.

Illegal downloading would be dealt fatal blows by affordable streaming services Netflix, Stan and Presto, along with Pay TV.

However, as speculation runs rife Jon Snow is, in fact, still kicking in Game of Thrones Season Six, new research suggests piracy in Australia is also down, but not out.

An annual piracy chart by data firm Excipio showed that globally, piracy was growing exponentially.

The Most Downloaded Shows and Movies of 2015:

1) 46,762,310 Interstellar (2014)

2) 44,794,877 Furious 7 (2015)

3) 41,594,159 Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

4) 36,881,763 Jurassic World (2015)

5) 36,443,244 Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

6) 33,953,737 American Sniper (2014)

7) 32,126,827 Fifty Shades of Grey (2015)

8) 31,574,872 The Hobbit: Battle Of The Five Armys (2014)

9) 31,001,480 Terminator: Genisys (2015)

10) 30,922,987 The Secret Service (2014)

Source Excipio

Last year, Australia was globally one of the top four illegal downloading regions, but national surveys done in 2015 show the tide is turning.

A survey by consumer advocate Choice in September showed the rate of piracy was down 25 percent and campaigns manager Erin Turner put it down to streaming services.

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

"This proves once again that making content affordable and easily available is the first and most effective tactic to reduce piracy.

"As a nation we are keen to pay for legal content."

Another study released by the IP Awareness Foundation in October found the piracy rate had decreased four percent in 2015 -- which was the first time they'd seen a drop in the annual survey.

In November, research firm Roy Morgan showed Netflix had gained more than 1 million Australian subscribers in eight months while Stan had 450,000 gross sign-ups. Earlier that year in April, Roy Morgan estimated Foxtel had 1.89 million registered users.

As 2016 content gears up, the question remains, will illegal downloading be stamped out in Australia?

When Game of Thrones Season Six airs in April and eager fans seek to know what happened to Jon Snow, we'll see whether they're viewing it legally or illegally.

Close
This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost Australia. Certain site features have been disabled. If you have questions or concerns, please check our FAQ or contact support@huffpost.com.