Netflix tags March 2015 for ANZ launch

Oz TV barons: 'Yep, we own that show. And that one. And this one'

Netflix has finally unbagged the cat, giving a date for its long-mooted, sometimes-denied Australia and New Zealand launch: March 2015.

Apart from the usual shopping-list of titles, the Internet-streaming net-neutrality-warrior says it'll be including 4K content in its service, which will cause a wry and bitter laugh among anyone connected to Australia's copper network.

The outfit is taking registrations from Australians and New Zealanders now, and will subject the waiting masses to the usual drip-drip-drip of exciting, crafted and coordinated announcements about which devices it'll support, what its prices will be, and its programming decisions (all of which Vulture South intends to ignore entirely because that's not news, it's just a publicity campaign).

It'll be far more interesting, in the opinion of Vulture South, to observe whether Netflix manages to spark its own, localised net-neutrality debate – not because we expect ISPs to imitate Verizon / Comcast in the USA, but because all the majors have their own content relationships to protect.

We also observe that apart Netflix refers to customers as being able to watch “a curated selection” of movies and TV shows, which a cynic might interpret as meaning the complex web of geographic rights management will mean Australian and New Zealand customers won't see the whole gamut of shows the streamer can show in the USA. ®