Binge Is the Affordable New Foxtel Streaming Service Filled with HBO Shows
It launches next week — and it'll cost just $10 a month.
For years, Foxtel has been Australia's main source for HBO series, airing everything from Game of Thrones, Westworld and Succession to Chernobyl, Veep and Big Little Lies. And, if you weren't signed up to the pay TV service, that meant streaming your favourite shows via its online platforms — such as the now-defunct Presto and the currently available Foxtel Now.
From Monday, May 25, Aussie TV fans will have another option: new streaming service Binge. While Foxtel Now isn't going anywhere, the Foxtel-run Binge works more like Netflix, Stan, Amazon Prime Video and their long list of competitors. So, rather than replicating Foxtel's channel packages via an online platform, requiring you to pick and choose different options depending on whether you're eager for sport, movies or drama, as Foxtel Now does, with Binge you'll pay a flat fee to gain access to everything.
On the TV lineup: all of the aforementioned HBO programs, plus older faves such as The Sopranos, The Wire, Six Feet Under, Sex and the City and Girls. After HBO's new US streaming service HBO Max launches in the US on May 27, Binge will also feature scripted shows from the platform, such as the new Gossip Girl reboot. And, working with companies such as WarnerMedia, NBCU, FX, BBC and Sony, it'll boast plenty of other highlights — including classic comedies like Seinfeld, The Office, 30 Rock, Parks and Recreation; crime thrills thanks to Law & Order and NCIS; new releases like Breeders and Mrs America; documentaries such as Planet Earth; and competitive series including the Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman-hosted Making It.
Kicking off with more than 10,000 hours of content, Binge's catalogue will also feature a heap of movies — think flicks from the Fast and Furious, Jurassic Park, Mission: Impossible and DC Universe franchises; films from directors such as Steven Spielberg, Christopher Nolan, Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino; and newcomers like the Hugh Jackman-starring Bad Education.
And, if you're eager for recommendations — and not just from an algorithm — it'll include curated collections that'll steer you in different viewing directions. You can also select 'binge' or 'surprise me' options, which'll do the choosing for you.
Price-wise, Binge will cost $10 per month for one SD screen, $14 per month for two HD screens and $18 per month for four HD screens, with a two-week free trial also available when it kicks off. Users will be able to access the service online, and via Android TV, Apple TV, Telstra TV, Chromecast, tablets and mobile devices.
Binge launches on Monday, May 25. For further information — or to sign-up — visit the platform's website.
Top image: Game of Thrones, Helen Sloan.
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