Netflix is expanding to Australia and New Zealand in March

Just months after Netflix pushed more aggressively into Europe, and several years after the service landed in Latin America, the online video giant is now ready to head Down Under. The company announced its plan to roll out its video-streaming platform in Australia and New Zealand in a carefully designed tweet posted Wednesday. “Internet-connected users in Australia and New Zealand will be able to subscribe to Netflix and instantly watch a curated selection of popular movies and TV shows in high-definition or even 4K where available,” the California-based company said in a release.

After speculation across the Australian media industry about the rumoured local launch of Netflix, the US-based movie and TV subscription streaming service announced it will launch in Australia and New Zealand in March 2015. Netflix was widely anticipated to come to Australian shores in 2015, with local rights holders saying the US company was in talks to tie up content deals with the major studios ahead of launch. The price tag for Australian subscribers has not yet been confirmed, but Netflix is promising “a curated selection of popular movies and TV shows in high-definition or even 4K where available” across “hundreds of Internet-connected devices”. In terms of content, Netflix is already talking up its original programming, including series such as ‘Marco Polo’ and cult hit ‘BoJack Horseman’. It is also promising that the selection for Australian and New Zealand viewers will “expand in 2015” to include shows such as the original series ‘Bloodline’ (starring Australian actor Ben Mendelsohn), Marvel’s ‘Daredevil’ franchise, ‘Sense8’ (from the creators of the ‘Matrix’ trilogy) and the Netflix premiere of ‘Grace and Frankie’, starring Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda.