Binge (streaming service)

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

Binge is an Australian subscription video on-demand service owned by Hubbl, a subsidiary of Foxtel. The service is devoted primarily to entertainment content, including television series and films.

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	Hubbl
CEO	Julian Ogrin[2]
Key people	Alison Hurbert-Burns (Executive Director)[2]
Products	Streaming media Video on demand
Parent	Foxtel
URL	binge.com.au
Registration	Required
Users	1.529M (as of 31 March 2023)[3]
Launched	25 May 2020; 5 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]
As of 31 March 2023[update]	1,484,000	1,529,000	[3]
As of 9 August 2024[update]	1,529,000	1,552,000	[16]

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.^[17]

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.^[18]

Ahead of Binge's launch, Foxtel and Binge acquired Australian rights to HBO Max original programmes distributed by Warner Bros. Television Studios.^[19] In September 2022, Foxtel announced that WWE Network content would move exclusively to Binge in January 2023.^[20][21] HBO Max is now confirmed to launch in Australia as a stand-alone streaming service on March 31, 2025 around the same time their deal with parent company Warner Bros. Discovery expires.^[22][23] Foxtel will however instead include the streaming app and its subscription to the basic with ads plan on their IQ boxes for Foxtel subscribers at launch at no extra cost, confirming that nearly all HBO and Warner Bros. Discovery content will migrate to Max app upon arrival, meaning that Foxtel will now act as HBO Max's launch partner instead via a new deal.^[24][25] In addition, WWE programming was removed from Binge in a two-stage set-up in late 2024, due to the move of all WWE programming to Netflix. The first stage saw live WWE content drop off of the Fox8 schedule in September 2024, and the second stage saw all remaining programming dropped on New Year's Day 2025, with the Australian WWE Network channel closing as a result.

Some of Binge's suppliers include:

• 20th Television (via Walt Disney Studios; selected titles)
• ABC Commercial^[26]
• American International Pictures (via Amazon MGM Studios)
• All3Media^[27]
• Amazon MGM Studios
• Amblin Partners (via NBCUniversal)
• Banijay^[28]
• Cineflix Rights^[29]
• CNN (via Warner Bros. Discovery)
• Columbia Pictures (via Sony Pictures)
• DC Entertainment (via Warner Bros. Discovery)
• Focus Features (via NBCUniversal)
• Fremantle^[30]
• ITV Studios^[31]
• Lionsgate
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (via Amazon MGM Studios)
• Miramax (via Paramount Global)
• NBCUniversal^[32]
• New Line Cinema (via Warner Bros. Discovery)
• Paramount Pictures (via Paramount Global)
• StudioCanal^[33]
• Sony Pictures Television^[34]
• Summit Entertainment (via Lionsgate)
• Telepictures (via Warner Bros. Discovery)
• TriStar Pictures (via Sony Pictures)
• Universal Pictures (via NBCUniversal)
• Paramount Global^[35]
• Village Roadshow Pictures^[36]
• Warner Bros. Pictures (via Warner Bros. Discovery)
• Warner Bros. Discovery^[37]

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.^[38][39]

Foxtel owned: Foxtel One Showcase Boxsets Crime Famous Classics British Comedy FOX8 Lifestyle Lifestyle Food Lifestyle Home Arena Real Life

Real Crime Bloomberg CNN MSNBC Investigation Discovery DocPlay Travel Real History Discovery Turbo Discovery Fashion TV LMN BBC UKTV TLC Universal TV Animal Planet DreamWorks Channel

Original programming

• Upright (2019–2022)
• Love Me (2021–)
• Colin from Accounts (2022–)
• Strife (2023-)
• How to Make Gravy (2024)

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.^[40]

Supported devices

Hardware supported^[41]

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^[41]

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

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