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Best streaming services: Australian Streaming TV Charts I January 2024
Each month, Finder provides a ranked list of the best streaming services in Australia.
It's hard to make a sweeping statement about a definitive best streaming service in Australia as people sign up to them for different reasons. But the constants are price and content. It's these 2 pillars we've used to bring you our best picks for the month.
Finder has partnered with Parrot Analytics to rank the best streaming services in Australia based on the quality of programming and their cost. This means the results are based purely on numbers – no personal bias included.
Snapshot January 2024
Paramount Plus is the best streaming service in Australia in January 2024 based on Finder's value score.
Foxtel Now is the streaming service that features the most in-demand shows in January 2024.
The Australian Streaming Charts, produced by Finder and Parrot Analytics data, provides a definitive insight into the state of the streaming market Down Under each month.
Primarily these streaming services are ranked on the value proposition they offer in any given month. As new shows come and go seasonally and in popularity, these charts reflect that change.
Finder's value analysis begins with Parrot's monthly report on the top 100 most in-demand shows in Australia. This is provided exclusively to Finder in partnership to develop these charts. Its data uses various sources, including social media mentions and official numbers, to generate a popularity metric. It shows how much more demand there is for a show over the average across all shows.
We analyse each show in the list and match it against our internet-leading database of streaming providers to identify where each show can be streamed. We further break that info down to:
The number of seasons for a show
How many older (legacy) seasons it has
If it has the latest season of a show
Whether the latest season is new (with new being defined as released in the last year or an ongoing series - i.e. a renewed show).
A streaming service is rewarded for having the latest season of a new TV series, but provides a secondary score based on the percentage of older seasons it also houses in its catalogue.
The total score from this is then multiplied by the popularity metric from Parrot. As that metric is different for each show, the higher it is on the top 100 list, the more it's going to contribute to the overall score.
Finally, this score is weighed against the cost of each service. Only paid streaming services are considered for this, hence free-to-air streaming services are excluded from the results. For services that have ad-tiers, we use the cost of their cheapest ad-free plan available in a minimum of HD resolution needed to watch all its in-demand shows.
Ultimately, this then provides a definitive ranking of which service is offering the best value in any given month.
Best streaming service in Australia - January 2024
Finder looks at a show's popularity, season availability, price and more to calculate a monthly value score for paid streaming services. This is based on data from December 2023.
Paramount Plus is rated the best streaming service in Australia for January 2024. It had a big jump from December due to the success of new shows including NCIS: Sydney, the Frasier reboot and The Curse. Alongside this is the enduring popularity of South Park and Paw Patrol.
Disney Plus maintained its second place as even though the hype around the Loki finale died down, new episodes of Doctor Who and The Simpsons fuelled demand for those shows.
Last month's winner BINGE dropped to third, as the only new in demand shows were due to a Real Housewives of Sydney reunion and Hell's Kitchen.
Best streaming service in Australia for the most popular shows - January 2024
Finder looks at the number of shows each streaming service has in the top 100 each month relative to the demand of those shows.
The streaming service in first place is the one with the biggest percentage of shows based on demand for that month. This also factors in whether it has the latest season of a show, as well as any older seasons. It does not take into account the price of accessing those shows.
Foxtel Now and BINGE remain in the top 2 positions, though their overall share has dipped slightly since last month. They feature nearly exactly the same content, but Foxtel Now just gets the edge courtesy of also screening Bluey.
Netflix moved into the top 3 buoyed by the final episodes ever of The Crown and new episodes of Rick and Morty, as well as new shows gaining traction like Scott Pilgrim Takes Off and Squid Game: The Challenge.
Finder was given access to the top 100 TV series popularity data from Parrot Analytics' enterprise audience analytics dataset. Parrot Analytics compares the demand that exists for each series in Australia against the average TV show. To access a "Lite" version of Parrot Analytics' audience demand measurement system for TV shows, movies and talent, check out DEMAND360 Lite.
Best streaming services Australia FAQs
According to Finder's own CST data, Netflix is the most popular streaming service in Australia. It's used by just over double the next most popular in Disney Plus. Not far behind in third and fourth were Prime Video and Stan respectively. Other popular services include BINGE and Foxtel Now.
According to Finder's data, Prime Video is the streaming service that has the most content in Australia. It has 11,998 titles in its library.
Finder has weighed up the options and put together a complete Netflix vs Stan guide to see which one is right for you.
Previous Australian Streaming TV Charts
Note: Finder scoring methodology changed in December 2023
Mark Neilsen is a writer at Finder, specialising in streaming, broadband and mobile. He looks for deals on all those services and keeps you abreast of any changes to see what's worth it for you. He has over 20 years' experience in print and digital media and while at Finder, Mark’s expertise has been featured in Yahoo Finance, The New Daily, Ad News, Tech Guide and news.com.au. In his time at Finder he has done over 300 articles on streaming, mobile and broadband. In his time away from Finder he is trying to get through the watchlists of the 11 streaming services he is currently subscribed to.
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