Years of rumours and speculation can now be put aside, as US streaming giant Netflix has today confirmed that it will be officially launching in Australia and New Zealand in March 2015.
The pricing structure is yet to be announced, but the announcement does specifically mention that the ANZ service will be streaming in both HD and 4K resolutions where available.
Given the reports that over 100,000 Australian customers currently access the US service via VPN, perhaps the more interesting question to come from the announcement is that of content, and how much overlap the new Australian service will have with its US counterpart.
The original and best?
Netflix has confirmed that the Australian launch will come with a bevy of original series, including Marco Polo, BoJack Horseman and All Hail King Julien from Dreamworks Animation.
Later in the year, Australian subscribers will also get access to original series like Bloodline, Marvel's DareDevil and Sense8.
There's no word whether older original programming that has already been offered by local rival Foxtel - like Orange is the New Black or House of Cards - will be available though.
A question of availability
The other potential hurdle Australian Netflix enthusiasts are destined to face, although it's yet to be confirmed,is that Netflix will begin locking out VPN access to its US service.
That means that everyone currently paying for the US service could end up being forced onto the Australian service.
On the upside, Netflix has confirmed that the ANZ platform will be available on Smart TVs, mobile devices, plus games consoles and set-top boxes, which means it will be easier than ever to access content.
Now all we need is an internet infrastructure to handle the bandwidth...
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