 | |
| Type of business | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
Type of site | Over-the-top media service |
| Available in | English |
| Predecessor | Binge (TV channel) |
| Headquarters | Artarmon, New South Wales[1], |
| Area served | Australia |
| Owner | Hubbl |
| CEO | Julian Ogrin[2] |
| Key people | Alison Hurbert-Burns (Executive Director)[2] |
| Products | |
| Parent | Foxtel |
| URL | binge |
| Registration | Required |
| Users |  1.529M(as of 31 March 2023)[3] |
| Launched | 25 May 2020; 5 years ago (2020-05-25) |
| Current status | Active |
Binge is an Australiansubscription video on-demand service owned byHubbl, a subsidiary ofFoxtel. The service is devoted primarily to entertainment content, including television series and films.
In August 2018 it was reportedFoxtel were expected to announce an entertainmentsubscription video on demand (SVOD) service. The service, internally codenamed Project Jupiter, aimed to combat the building competition from streaming services such asNetflix,Stan, andAmazon Prime Video. This new service would complement Foxtel's sports SVOD service which had been given the go-ahead (later launched asKayo Sports) as well as offer an alternative to traditionalsatellite andcable 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 ofGame 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 fromProject Jupiter toProject Ares.[6]
On 23 May 2020 it was announced the new service would be called Binge. It officially launched on 25 May 2020.[7]
| 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] |
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]
Binge's content is drawn primarily from output deals with Foxtel. Not all content available onFoxtel may be available on Binge due to competing agreements with other distributors (including otherAustralian TV channels) and/orstreaming services in Australia.[18]
Ahead of Binge's launch, Foxtel and Binge acquired Australian rights toHBO Max original programmes distributed byWarner Bros. Television Studios.[19] In September 2022, Foxtel announced thatWWE 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 31 March 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:
Binge has access to some ofFoxtel movie output deals for movies includingAustralian cinema,Hollywoodblockbusters,British films,independent film and other global releases. Binge may or may not share a same day release withFoxtel'sFoxtel 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 onFoxtel's Movies Package before being made available to Binge and otherFoxtel on demand subscribes.[citation needed]
Binge also carries a lineup of 34 live linear television networks from Foxtel and other broadcasters.[38][39]
Foxtel owned: |
|
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 includesadvertisements on all content exceptmovies. The subscriptions range from $10 to $22.[40]
Hardware supported[41]
The devices on this list are supported by Binge:
Software supported[41]
Supported web browsers by platform:
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.
Binge reached 1.04 million subscribers (928,000 paid), up 122%.
BINGE reached 1.263 million subscribers (1.192 million paid), up 53%.