Do we need one more streaming service in Australia?

Do we need one more streaming service in Australia?

Streaming platform Max will be a blow to Binge when it launches in Australia on Monday, an RMIT expert reveals.

Dr Alexa Scarlata, co-lead of the Streaming Industries and Genres Network

“The streaming sector in Australia celebrated the 10-year anniversary of Netflix this week but it is now poised for disruption with the arrival of a new international competitor.

“Warner Bros Discovery will launch its streaming platform, Max, on Monday 31 March. This will be a real blow to the Foxtel-owned streamer, Binge, which has relied on its status as the home of Warner’s HBO catalogue in Australia. From next week, classic HBO titles like Game of Thrones and The Sopranos will move over to Max, and new seasons of flagships The Last of Us and Euphoria will be exclusively available there. We are watching our last season of The White Lotus on Binge.

“The notoriety and reputation of HBO’s catalogue sets up Max to make significant waves in the local market and casts further uncertainly upon the much-beleaguered Foxtel Group. But do Australians need – or can they afford – more streaming services?

“Nearly half of us are already stacking subscriptions, using more than five services. This is necessary when exclusive watercooler shows are dispersed across multiple platforms, but it adds up. As such, rates of cancellation and downgrading to cheaper ad tiers are on the rise. The arrival of Max might be what tips us into a new phase of platform consolidation.”

Dr Alexa Scarlata’s research examines internet distributed television, content production and national screen policy.

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General media enquiries: RMIT External Affairs and Media, 0439 704 077 or news@rmit.edu.au

 

28 March 2025

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28 March 2025

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