Video-on-demand affordability: the cultural costs of unequal access to online film and television

This article considers how content fragmentation in online video-on-demand (VOD) markets shapes public access to, and affordability of, screen content. We offer a case study of Australia, a jurisdiction in which media and broadcast policy have traditionally prioritised some considerations of access and reach over commercial interests in exclusivity and market segmentation. To capture the affordability of screen content, we use a shopping basket approach and an automated data scraper to measure the price and availability of award-winning film and television titles across different streaming providers. We find that, while most titles are readily available across one or more free, subscription and transactional VOD services, premium titles are largely concentrated behind paywalls. Our analysis assesses the implications of this market structure for the social stratification of video consumption. We conclude that fragmentation and price increases in subscription video are contributing to a narrowing of public access to premium film and television.