Presto Entertainment launches for $14.99 a month

AUSTRALIA’S TV streaming wars start today, with the first of three new services launched. Foxtel’s Presto is now online, but is it enough to win viewers?

Foxtel Presto. Source: Supplied. Picture: Supplied

FOXTEL and Seven West Media will today launch their new movie and TV streaming service Presto Entertainment. It’s the first of several services launching as part of the Aussie streaming service revolution.

The service combines movies from Foxtel’s existing Presto service with selected Foxtel and Channel 7 TV shows, and it will include some premium content from the likes of HBO and Foxtel’s Showtime.

We'll be offline while performing maintenance between 12-4am tonight, but back online in the morning with big news! pic.twitter.com/DAXQpdaNVp

— Presto (@presto) January 14, 2015

An official announcement will be made later today, but users can already sign up to the service on the Presto website. Prices start at $9.99 a month for either the movie only pack or the TV only pack, while $14.99 a month will get you a combination of both. Both prices are cheaper than Presto’s originally $19.99 movie only pricing at the services original launch last year, however the $14.99 price tag will be more expensive than competitors Stan and Netflix.

Presto, starting at $9.99.

Some key TV shows on offer with Presto Entertainment include Boardwalk Empire, True Blood, The Newsroom, The Sopranos, Packed to the Rafters and Entourage.

Other Foxtel favourite shows like Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad won’t be on the service.

Presto Entertainment’s marquee shows.

Presto Entertainment is the first of several streaming services to launch this year, including Channel Nine and Fairfax owned Stan, plus US giant Netflix which will launch on March 31 and start at $9.99.

With these streaming services set to launch, Australia’s TV market is set for a huge shake up. Which is why most channels, aside from Network Ten are investing big money into the area.

In the USA where Netflix launched years ago, the service is so popular that 30 per cent of the country’s internet traffic in peak times is just from Netflix.

Another survey from Sony owned Crackle (another streaming service) showed that 83 per cent of the US streams TV and movies over the internet. For those aged under 30, the stats are even higher, at 90 per cent.

However, while the TV networks are investing big money into the services, it’s still yet to be seen whether Australia’s internet can handle that much data being streamed. Especially without a complete fibre connection that much of the US and Europe enjoy. With the Government’s new multi-technology NBN, it doesn’t look like this will be changing anytime soon.

News Corp, publisher of news.com.au, owns 50 per cent of Foxtel. The joint venture between Foxtel and Channel 7 is still awaiting regulatory approval via the ACCC.