Binge (streaming service)

This article is about the Australian streaming service. For other uses, see Binge.
Binge
Type of businessSubsidiary
Type of site
Over-the-top media service
Available inEnglish
Predecessor(s)Binge (TV channel)
HeadquartersArtarmon, New South Wales[1],
Australia
Area servedAustralia
OwnerHubbl
CEOJulian Ogrin[2]
Key peopleAlison Hurbert-Burns
(Executive Director)[2]
Products
ParentFoxtel
URLbinge.com.au
RegistrationRequired
UsersIncrease 1.529M (as of 31 March 2023)[3]
Launched25 May 2020; 4 years ago (2020-05-25)
Current statusActive

Binge (stylised in all caps) is a video streaming subscription service available in Australia, owned by Hubbl.[4] The service offers on demand and live entertainment, lifestyle, reality and movies.

History

In August 2018 it was reported Foxtel were expected to announce an entertainment subscription video on demand (SVOD) service. The service, internally codenamed Project Jupiter, aimed to combat the building competition from streaming services such as Netflix, Stan, and Amazon Prime Video. This new service would complement Foxtel's sports SVOD service which had been given the go-ahead (later launched as Kayo Sports) as well as offer an alternative to traditional satellite and cable Foxtel services.[5]

In October 2018, it was reported that Project Jupiter would launch in the first half of 2019 to coincide with the final season of Game of Thrones.[6] In March 2019 it was reported Foxtel had green-lit Project Jupiter, however, it would not launch in early 2019 as previously reported.[1] In September 2019 it was reported Foxtel had assembled a staff of 40 ahead of the launch who were located within the same facility as sister-company Kayo Sports. It was also noted the service's code name had changed from Project Jupiter to Project Ares.[7]

On 23 May 2020 it was announced the new service would be called Binge. It officially launched on 25 May 2020.[8]

Loss of rights to HBO Max titles

Binge relies largely on HBO Max content, and as a result it is deemed the local counterpart of HBO Max. However, in 2024, it was announced that HBO Max would come to Australia as a stand-alone streaming service around the same time their deal with Foxtel expires in early 2025. This means that Binge will now have to thrive off its output deal with Peacock TV and NBCUniversal since Peacock TV has decided to cancel plans to launch in Australia and is expected to lose HBO titles and all WB titles to HBO Max in 2025.[9][10][11]

Subscribers

Date Paying subscribers Total subscribers Ref
As of 4 August 2020 185,000 217,000 [12]
As of 30 September 2020 290,000 321,000 [13]
As of December 2020 431,000 468,000 [14]
As of 31 March 2021 561,000 679,000 [15]
As of 30 June 2021 733,000 827,000 [16]
As of 31 December 2021 928,000 1,040,000 [17]
As of 8 August 2022 1,192,000 1,263,000 [18]
As of 10 February 2023 1,375,000 1,439,000 [19]
As of 31 March 2023 1,484,000 1,529,000 [3]
As of 9 August 2024 1,529,000 1,552,000 [20]

Content

At launch Binge was reported to offer over 10,000 hours of entertainment, lifestyle, reality and movie content without advertisements,[8] which was expected to expand to 20,000 hours of content within 12 months.[21]

Output deals

Binge's content is drawn primarily from output deals with Foxtel. Not all content available on Foxtel may be available on Binge due to competing agreements with other distributors (including other Australian TV channels) and/or streaming services in Australia.[22]

Ahead of Binge's launch, Foxtel and Binge acquired Australian rights to HBO Max original programmes distributed by Warner Bros. Television Studios.[23] In September 2022, Foxtel announced that WWE Network content would move exclusively to Binge in January 2023.[24][25] HBO Max is now confirmed to launch in Australia as a stand-alone streaming service in early 2025 around the same time their deal with parent company Warner Bros. Discovery expires, potentially delivering a major blow for Foxtel and Binge as they largely rely on HBO content and also follows the loss of BBC and MTV Networks and majority of FX titles now relocating to Disney+ exclusively.[26][9]

Some of Binge's suppliers include:

Movies

Binge has access to some of Foxtel movie output deals for movies including Australian cinema, Hollywood blockbusters, British films, independent film and other global releases. Binge may or may not share a same day release with Foxtel's Foxtel Movies release depending on the title and the output deal with its distributor.[citation needed] Some blockbusters like Universal Pictures’ Fast & Furious franchise had an exclusive window on Foxtel's Movies Package before being made available to Binge and other Foxtel on demand subscribes.[citation needed]

Live linear TV channels

Binge also carries a lineup of 34 live linear television networks from Foxtel and other broadcasters.[39][40]

Original programming

Subscription packages

As of 2024, Binge offers three tiers of monthly subscriptions defined by the number of simultaneous streams allowed – 1, 2, or 4 – and the quality of the streamed content from High Definition to 4K. The basic plan now includes advertisements on all content except movies. The subscriptions range from $10 to $22.[41]

Supported devices

Hardware supported[42]

The devices on this list are supported by Binge:

  • Apple TV – supported on 4th Generation or higher on tvOS 12+
  • Apple iPhones and iPads – supported on iOS 12+
  • Android Mobiles and Tablets – supported on Android 7+
  • Android TV OS – supported on Version 7.0+
  • LG TV – supported on all LG TVs from 2018 and later
  • Samsung Smart TV – Supported on all Samsung Smart TVs from 2017 onwards
  • Telstra TV – supported on TTV1 (4200TL), TTV2 (4700TL) and TTV3 (4701TL)
  • Chromecast – supported on Chromecast Ultra and latest 3rd Generation +
  • Hubbl

Software supported[42]

Supported web browsers by platform:

  • macOS (10.12+): Safari, Google Chrome or Firefox
  • webOS (2.23+): WebKit
  • Windows (10+): Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge or Firefox

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Mason, Max (3 March 2019). "Foxtel plots its next streaming service to take on Stan and Netflix". The Australian Financial Review. Archived from the original on 15 February 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  2. ^ a b Knox, David (13 August 2020). "Amanda Laing to oversee Foxtel content". TV Tonight. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Foxtel subscribers grow 6% - AdNews". www.adnews.com.au. Retrieved 2023-08-28.
  4. ^ Manning, James (29 December 2023). "Foxtel Group's Hubbl launch: Binge, Kayo Sports accounts moving to new platform in February". Mediaweek. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  5. ^ Mason, Max (6 August 2018). "Foxtel readies sport and entertainment streaming services to fight Netflix, Stan". The Australian Financial Review. Archived from the original on 25 December 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  6. ^ Knox, David (29 October 2018). "Foxtel sports-streaming tipped for December". TV Tonight. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  7. ^ Mason, Max (16 September 2019). "Foxtel ramps up Project Ares ahead of launch of 'Kayo's sister'". The Australian Financial Review. Archived from the original on 15 February 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  8. ^ a b Knox, David (23 May 2020). "Binge ready to tempt". TV Tonight. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  9. ^ a b "Streaming powerhouse to launch in Australia next year". Australian Financial Review. September 25, 2024.
  10. ^ Perry, Kevin (26 September 2024). "MAX Streaming Service Coming to Australia in 2025: What to Expect". TV Black Box. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
  11. ^ Knox, David (25 September 2024). "MAX to launch in Australia in 2025". TV Tonight. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
  12. ^ Knox, David (10 August 2020). "Kayo, Binge, Foxtel Now paid subscribers top 900,000". TV Tonight. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  13. ^ Cheik-Hussein, Mariam (6 November 2020). "Binge, Kayo boost Foxtel subscriptions but revenue still down". AdNews. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  14. ^ Knox, David (26 February 2021). "Binge for the fans". TV Tonight. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  15. ^ "News Corp reports: Kayo audiences doubles, Binge climbs to new high". Mediaweek. 6 May 2021.
  16. ^ "NEWS CORPORATION REPORTS FOURTH QUARTER AND FULL YEAR RESULTS FOR FISCAL 2021". News Corp. 5 August 2021. BINGE, which launched in May 2020, had 827,000 subscribers (733,000 paying) as of June 30, 2021, compared to 80,000 subscribers (56,000 paying) in the prior year.
  17. ^ "Foxtel Group Second Quarter: Foxtel subs 4m, Kayo & Binge each 1m+". Media Week. 4 February 2022. Binge reached 1.04 million subscribers (928,000 paid), up 122%.
  18. ^ "Foxtel's streaming subscriber base up 31% in Group Q4 and full-year fiscal 2022 results". Mumbrella. 9 August 2022. BINGE reached 1.263 million subscribers (1.192 million paid), up 53%.
  19. ^ "Foxtel Group Fiscal 2023 Second Quarter Earnings". Foxtel Group. 10 February 2023.
  20. ^ "Foxtel Group Fiscal 2024 Fourth Quarter Earnings". Foxtel Group. 9 August 2024.
  21. ^ Perry, Kevin (22 May 2020). "EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT AUSTRALIA'S NEXT STREAMING SERVICE BINGE". TV BlackBox. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  22. ^ "Foxtel secures exclusive HBO deal ahead of Binge launch". Australian Financial Review. 6 May 2020.
  23. ^ Knox, David (7 May 2020). "HBO deal a final brick ahead of new streaming launch". TV Tonight. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  24. ^ Szalai, Georg (September 27, 2022). "WWE Expands Exclusive Deal With Foxtel in Australia". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
  25. ^ Sim, Josh (September 28, 2022). "WWE Network lands on exclusively Foxtel's Binge streaming service in Australia". SportsPro. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
  26. ^ "How Netflix rival coming to Aus is threatening your favourite TV show". 7NEWS. September 26, 2024.
  27. ^ "Foxtel buys ABC TV programs". Mumbrella. 11 January 2011.
  28. ^ "Foxtel lines up premium documentary channel Fox Docos to replace Arts network". C21media.
  29. ^ "Foxtel Archives". Banijay Group - We are Banijay. 12 September 2019.
  30. ^ "Foxtel Australia acquires crime and lifestyle content from Cineflix Rights". Television Asia Plus. 26 May 2014.
  31. ^ Groves, Don (29 October 2020). "Foxtel gets ready to green light three Aussie dramas". IF Magazine.
  32. ^ "ITV Studios forms Foxtel partnership". C21media.
  33. ^ "Foxtel and NBCUniversal complete new multi-year content agreement". Foxtel.
  34. ^ "Foxtel distribution deal with Studiocanal". advanced-television.com. 16 October 2013.
  35. ^ "Blockbuster lineup for Foxtel Movies".
  36. ^ Samios, Zoe (15 March 2020). "ViacomCBS signs distribution deal with Foxtel". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  37. ^ "Village Roadshow Film Distribution". villageroadshow.com.au.
  38. ^ "Foxtel and WarnerMedia agree major multi-year relationship expansion". Foxtel.
  39. ^ Knox, David (28 July 2020). "No blackouts on Binge". TV Tonight. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  40. ^ Stead, Chris (24 May 2023). "BINGE streaming service: Price, features and content | Finder". finder.com.au.
  41. ^ Barrett, Dan (2020-05-26). "Binge: is this Foxtel's last gasp or the future of streaming in Australia?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  42. ^ a b "Binge".