Binge (streaming service)

This article is about the Australian streaming service. For other uses, see Binge.

Binge is a video streaming subscription service available in Australia, owned by Streamotion (a wholly owned subsidiary of Foxtel). The service offers on demand and live entertainment, lifestyle, reality and movie programming.

Binge

Type of business	Subsidiary
Type of site	Over-the-top media service
Available in	English
Predecessor(s)	Binge (TV channel)
Headquarters	Artarmon, New South Wales^[1], Australia
Area served	Australia
Owner	Streamotion
CEO	Julian Ogrin^[2]
Key people	Alison Hurbert-Burns (Executive Director)^[2]
Products	Streaming media Video on demand
Services	Film distribution Television distribution
Parent	Foxtel
URL	binge.com.au
Registration	Required
Users	1.439M (as of 10 February 2023)^[3]
Launched	25 May 2020; 3 years ago (2020-05-25)
Current status	Active

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.^[4]

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.^[5] 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.^[6]

On 23 May 2020 it was announced the new service would be called Binge. It officially launched on 25 May 2020.^[7]

Subscribers

Date	Paying subscribers	Total subscribers	Ref
As of 4 August 2020	185,000	217,000	^[8]
As of 30 September 2020	290,000	321,000	^[9]
As of December 2020^[update]	431,000	468,000	^[10]
As of 31 March 2021^[update]	561,000	679,000	^[11]
As of 30 June 2021^[update]	733,000	827,000	^[12]
As of 31 December 2021^[update]	928,000	1,040,000	^[13]
As of 8 August 2022^[update]	1,192,000	1,263,000	^[14]
As of 10 February 2023^[update]	1,375,000	1,439,000	^[15]

Content

At launch Binge was reported to offer over 10,000 hours of entertainment, lifestyle, reality and movie content without advertisements,^[7] which was expected to expand to 20,000 hours of content within 12 months.^[16]

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.^[17]

Ahead of Binge's launch, Foxtel and Binge acquired Australian rights to HBO Max original programmes distributed by Warner Bros. Television Studios.^[18] In September 2022, Foxtel announced that WWE Network content would move exclusively to Binge in January 2023.^[19][20]

Some of Binge’s suppliers include:

• 20th Television (via Walt Disney Studios; selected titles)
• ABC Commercial^[21]
• All3Media^[22]
• Amblin Partners (via NBCUniversal)
• Banijay^[23]
• BBC Studios^[24]
• Cineflix Rights^[25]
• CNN (via Warner Bros. Discovery)
• Columbia Pictures (via Sony Pictures)
• DC Entertainment (via Warner Bros. Discovery)
• Focus Features (via NBCUniversal)
• Fremantle^[26]
• HBO (via Warner Bros. Discovery)
• HBO Max (via Warner Bros. Discovery)
• ITV Studios^[27]
• Lionsgate
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
• Miramax (via Paramount Global)
• NBCUniversal^[28]
• New Line Cinema (via Warner Bros. Discovery)
• Paramount Pictures (via Paramount Global)
• StudioCanal^[29]
• Sony Pictures Television^[30]
• Summit Entertainment (via Lionsgate)
• Telepictures (via Warner Bros. Discovery)
• TriStar Pictures (via Sony Pictures)
• United Artists
• Universal Pictures (via NBCUniversal)
• Paramount Global^[31]
• Village Roadshow Pictures^[32]
• Warner Bros. Pictures (via Warner Bros. Discovery)
• Warner Bros. Discovery^[33]

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 27 live linear television networks from Foxtel and other broadcasters.^[34][35]

Foxtel owned: Fox One Fox Showcase Fox Crime Fox Docos Fox Sleuth Fox Comedy FOX8 Lifestyle Lifestyle Food Lifestyle Home Fox Arena

A&E Crime + Investigation History BBC UKTV BBC First BBC Earth BBC Kids CBeebies Universal TV E! DreamWorks Channel MTV Nickelodeon Nick Jr. Cartoon Network Boomerang

Subscription packages

As of June 24, 2023, 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 Standard Definition to High Definition. The standard plan now includes advertisements on all content except movies. The subscriptions range from $10 to $18.^[36]

Supported devices

Hardware supported^[37]

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 LG all LG TV’s from 2018 and later
• Samsung Smart TV - Supported on all Samsung Smart TV's from 2017 onwards
• Telstra TV - supported on TTV1 (4200TL), TTV2 (4700TL) and TTV3 (4701TL)
• Chromecast - supported on Chromecast Ultra and latest 3rd Generation +

Software supported^[37]

Supported web browsers by platform:

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

See also

• Foxtel Now
• Kayo Sports
• Internet television in Australia
• Subscription television in Australia
• List of streaming media services

References

1. Mason, Max (3 March 2019). . The Australian Financial Review. Archived from the original on 15 February 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
2. Knox, David (13 August 2020). "Amanda Laing to oversee Foxtel content". TV Tonight. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
3. "Foxtel Group Fiscal 2023 Second Quarter Earnings". Foxtel Group. 10 February 2023.
4. Mason, Max (6 August 2018). . The Australian Financial Review. Archived from the original on 25 December 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
5. Knox, David (29 October 2018). "Foxtel sports-streaming tipped for December". TV Tonight. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
6. Mason, Max (16 September 2019). . The Australian Financial Review. Archived from the original on 15 February 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
7. Knox, David (23 May 2020). "Binge ready to tempt". TV Tonight. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
8. Knox, David (10 August 2020). "Kayo, Binge, Foxtel Now paid subscribers top 900,000". TV Tonight. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
9. Cheik-Hussein, Mariam (6 November 2020). "Binge, Kayo boost Foxtel subscriptions but revenue still down". AdNews. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
10. Knox, David (26 February 2021). "Binge for the fans". TV Tonight. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
11. "News Corp reports: Kayo audiences doubles, Binge climbs to new high". Mediaweek. 6 May 2021.
12. "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.
13. "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%.
14. "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%.
15. "Foxtel Group Fiscal 2023 Second Quarter Earnings". Foxtel Group. 10 February 2023.
16. Perry, Kevin (22 May 2020). "EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT AUSTRALIA'S NEXT STREAMING SERVICE BINGE". TV BlackBox. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
17. "Foxtel secures exclusive HBO deal ahead of Binge launch". Australian Financial Review. 6 May 2020.
18. Knox, David (7 May 2020). "HBO deal a final brick ahead of new streaming launch". TV Tonight. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
19. Szalai, Georg (September 27, 2022). "WWE Expands Exclusive Deal With Foxtel in Australia". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
20. Sim, Josh (September 28, 2022). "WWE Network lands on exclusively Foxtel's Binge streaming service in Australia". SportsPro. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
21. "Foxtel buys ABC TV programs". Mumbrella. 11 January 2011.
22. "Foxtel lines up premium documentary channel Fox Docos to replace Arts network". C21media.
23. "Foxtel Archives". Banijay Group - We are Banijay. 12 September 2019.
24. "Foxtel and BBC Studios reach new long-term content agreement". Foxtel.
25. "Foxtel Australia acquires crime and lifestyle content from Cineflix Rights". Television Asia Plus. 26 May 2014.
26. Groves, Don (29 October 2020). "Foxtel gets ready to green light three Aussie dramas". IF Magazine.
27. "ITV Studios forms Foxtel partnership". C21media.
28. "Foxtel and NBCUniversal complete new multi-year content agreement". Foxtel.
29. "Foxtel distribution deal with Studiocanal". advanced-television.com. 16 October 2013.
30. "Blockbuster lineup for Foxtel Movies".
31. Samios, Zoe (15 March 2020). "ViacomCBS signs distribution deal with Foxtel". The Sydney Morning Herald.
32. "Village Roadshow Film Distribution". villageroadshow.com.au.
33. "Foxtel and WarnerMedia agree major multi-year relationship expansion". Foxtel.
34. Knox, David (28 July 2020). "No blackouts on Binge". TV Tonight. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
35. Stead, Chris (24 May 2023). "BINGE streaming service: Price, features and content | Finder". finder.com.au.
36. 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.
37. "Binge".

External links

• Official website