A screengrab of the Netflix movie titles leaked to Reddit. Photo / Reddit
A screengrab of the Netflix movie titles leaked to Reddit. Photo / Reddit
Lightbox has dropped their monthly subscription fee in response to Netflix announcing its pricing plan ahead of its New Zealand launch tomorrow.
Lightbox announced today it is lowering its price to $12.99, down from $15.
The price change takes effect from tomorrow and applies to existing and new customers.
Lightbox has also added a tranche of new shows to its line-up, including Taika Waititi comedy Super City,•BBC political drama Wolf Hall, Christina Ricci crime drama The Lizzie Borden Chronicles and WWII spy thriller X Company.
The Lightbox announcement comes after Netflix's entire Australian catalogue appeared to have been leaked online, a day before the streaming service is due to launch.
Images that claim to show the TV shows and movies that will be on offer were posted to Reddit, listing titles including Orange Is the New Black and Homeland and Australian shows Rake and Redfern Now.
A Netflix spokesman would not confirm if the images were authentic, or comment on whether the company released them, telling Daily Mail Australia: "We're not commenting on that supposed leak."
Some of the shows that are due to appear on Netflix Australia won't be offered to New Zealand subscribers but the leaked photos do give an indication of the wealth of TV shows and films on offer.
The leak comes as Netflix announced its pricing plan ahead of its New Zealand launch tomorrow.
New Zealanders will be able to access films and TV shows from the online streaming service from $9.99 a month.
Netflix, which has nearly 50 million subscribers across nearly 50 countries, will offer a one-month trial of its content for those who sign up.
Prices range from: • Single-stream standard definition plan for $9.99. • Two-stream high-definition plan for $12.99. • Four-stream 4K ultra-high definition "family" plan for $15.99.
Netflix will be available on a range of devices, including smart TVs, Apple devices, and gaming platforms; exclusive shows include Bloodline, Marco Polo, Sense8 and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and in the coming months there will be Marvel's Daredevil and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon II: The Green Destiny.
Also available will be all seasons of Lost, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Broadchurch, The Tunnel and Chris Lilley comedy shows Ja'mie: Private School Girl, Summer Heights High and We Can Be Heroes.
Movies include The Matrix, the Ocean's and The Lord of the Rings trilogies, Happy Feet, Wedding Crashers, Cars, Monsters Inc, Up and Zoolander.
Members can also catch up on seasons one and two of the critically-acclaimed series Orange is the New Black. Season three will premiere June 12 exclusively on Netflix.
Netflix's global scale - the company has a listed value of $28.78 billion and is available in 40 countries - creates a new dynamic for New Zealand that until last year was dominated by the near monopoly of Sky TV.
Orange is the New Black has been one of Netflix's stand out hits. Photo / Netflix
It will be competing against local subscription video on demand (SVOD) services, including Spark's Lightbox and recently announced Sky TV's Neon.
Netflix competes for price, content and distribution and it does not need to make a local profit. Rather the company judges performance on the global returns of its streamed titles, and not the return on investment for individual territories.
For consumers it could be good news but for local entertainment companies it will be a tough ask.
In the lead-up to its arrival New Zealand consumers have been accessing the Netflix US service - and other TV streaming sites - using "backdoor" or Virtual Private Network (VPN) sites, allowing them to watch superior libraries at prices kept low because of the size of the market.
SVOD focuses on schedules full of back catalogue material, with some exclusive content to draw customers.
Netflix is a huge company and has apps for media devices such as smart TVs and tablets.
In the local market, Quickflix is the most advanced so far and has built apps for media devices. Lightbox started in August and for 12 months is free to Spark broadband customers. Spark last month said it was increasing its investment in Lightbox, from an estimated $20 million previously, to $35 million.
Neon got bad reviews when it launched last month but has exclusive rights to repeat quality HBO content that it uses to justify its higher price.
