Fast Tracking Of Shows To Australia Is Getting Better, Maybe, If You Are Prepared To Pay

Bravo, Foxtel: The Walking Dead Is Airing In Australia Within 30 Minutes Of The US - Gizmodo Australia

Wow, Foxtel is listening (well, a little anyways).

It has been confirmed that Foxtel is screening the latest episodes of The Walking Dead about 30 minutes after it has finished screening in the US.  This is a big improvement of the 33 hour delay of season 3 but again we need to ask if it's enough.

Of course the answer is no. For the following reasons:

1.  A quick scroll through the comments confirm that the ads in the Foxtel version are just as full on as what you would expect on free to air, and considering you are already paying a premium for this content it certainly lessens the appeal.

2.  "Within 30 minutes" equates to the middle of the day in Australia, and the day in question is Monday.  Considering the majority of Foxtel subscribers will probably be at work this amazing bit of fast tracking won't actually benefit anyone.  Oh, there is an app that would let you watch it on your mobile device (as long as it's an iDevice) but then you'll also be coming up against the rather low data limit allowances allocated by Aussie telcos.

3.  You need a Foxtel subscription.  Sorry, but the idea of paying the asking price for high repetition, advertisement heavy content, regardless of how quickly they can put it on my screen, holds absolutely no appeal.

Also consider that The Walking Dead is now into it's forth season and even the early episodes have still not found their way to free to air and you can see that the distribution networks are still not too keen on giving Australians quick service at a comparable price to those enjoyed by US consumers.  You are looking at about $50 a month to access this show on Foxtel (with ads).  For $20 you can get access to Pay TV with a lot more content, with additional premium channels available for less than $5 per month, and you don't need to buy a bundle full of additional stuff you don't want.

I'm calling in now, with Game of Thrones on hiatus and Breaking Bad now finished we will be seeing an "Australians are the biggest pirates of The Walking Dead" in the very near future!