Australia’s streaming market is already crowded. There are only so many people who can sign up to Netflix, Stan, Prime, Binge, Kayo and the rest. That’s before you get to affordability issues – and the audiences for advertisers have been dwindling. Enter AVOD: advertising-based video on demand, where users pay less (or nothing) to see fewer ads. “It will allow people to really target their audience in a way they’ve never been able to do before,” says Foxtel board director Mark Kaner. Foxtel Media CEO, Mark Frain, forecasts ad-supported streaming platforms will come to Australia “pretty quickly”. The future, he says, is lower ad loads – viewers won’t stomach 16 minutes per hour – but more innovation. Thirty second, 10 second, and even shorter ads are paying dividends in the US. Now the Australian market has to prepare for launch – and the return of eyeballs.

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