And just like that … some of your favourite TV shows are moving house
Australia’s tight streaming market gets tighter in two weeks when the Warner Bros-owned, HBO-powered Max platform launches. But when the new service goes live on March 31, both Max and Foxtel’s Binge will have The White Lotus in their sights.
In a contractual twist worthy of the hit murder mystery series, the jewel in HBO’s programming crown will be available on both platforms – at least for the last two episodes of its current third season. Those episodes will drop here at the same time as in the US.
Did you say subscription or prescription? Parker Posey as Victoria Ratliff in The White Lotus.Credit: HBO
But a month later, The White Lotus will shift permanently to Max, along with many much-loved HBO and Warner Bros titles. Market congestion dominates media chatter, but longer term, it is the HBO slate effectively “changing channels” that will have the most profound impact on viewers.
That slate includes current hits The White Lotus, The Last of Us and Sex and the City sequel And Just Like That ..., but also many of HBO’s blue-chip library titles, such as Game of Thrones and Succession.
To offset a potentially high churn among its 1.3 million-plus Foxtel-subscribed households, for whom HBO’s content is one of the dominant pieces of the loyalty puzzle, Foxtel has signed a deal with Max to give them all free access.
Billing it as an “expanded content offering”, Foxtel has essentially bought 1.3 million subscriptions to Max’s “with ads” tier, hoping its customers will not cancel to sign up with the new service.
TV, TV everywhere ...Credit:
Though the hyper-competitive nature of the Australian market is sometimes overstated, Max does arrive in an extremely congested, decade-old streaming space.
At present, Netflix leads the market with more than 6 million Australian subscribers, followed by the Amazon-owned Prime Video (almost 5 million), Disney+ (above 3 million), Stan, which is owned by Nine Entertainment, publisher of this masthead (2.6 million) and Foxtel-owned Binge (1.5 million).
The Australian market also has a well-serviced free streaming sector, including two public broadcaster platforms, ABC iview and SBS On Demand.
Other key players in free streaming include 9Now (also owned by Nine), 7Plus, and international ad-supported streamer Tubi. At the same time, FAST (free, ad-supported TV) channel platforms, such as Pluto and Samsung, are encroaching into once-heavily regulated territory.
And there are lower-priced second-tier streamers such as BritBox and DocPlay.
And just like that … a TV show changes from one platform to the other. The Sex and the City sequel is among the shows moving home.Credit: Getty Images
Warner Bros chief executive and president of global streaming J.B. Perrette described Australia’s streaming market as one of the biggest in the world.
“We’ve been clear that the globalisation of Max is a top priority, and Australia represents one of our biggest new markets and a significant opportunity,” Perrette said.
The launch of Max and the deal-making that brought it about is reminiscent of an earlier era.
In 1996, Nine and Seven infamously fought over the rights to Friends. And in 2009, Nine signed what would be the last big-ticket output deal, a five-year deal with Warner Bros worth more than $US500 million ($795 million).
Its range of innovations and apps makes the upgraded Apple TV box the best TV streaming device available.Credit: iStock
Warner Bros Discovery’s plan is to launch Max with three tiers: premium ad-free, a standard service and an advertising-supported tier.
Which shows move from Binge to Max?
HBO shows primarily, including The Last of Us, And Just Like That..., Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon, Euphoria, Succession and The Penguin will move to Max. Max also takes some of Warner Bros’ most valuable IP, including Friends and The Big Bang Theory, DC Universe content and the Harry Potter films.
Which new shows will come to Max in 2025?
New HBO content, including the Game of Thrones prequel A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, set during the reign of King Robert Baratheon, the It prequel It: Welcome to Derry, the second seasonof The Last of Us and the third season of And Just Like That...
What stays on Binge?
The current seasons of The White Lotus, The Righteous Gemstones and The Pitt, but only for 30 days after each current season wraps. After that, Binge’s library of some 25,000 hours of content will include some Warner Bros titles, such as The Idol, We Own This City, Rescue Hi-Surf, Julia and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, plus content from the Warner Bros-owned Discovery Channel library.
Which platform gets The White Lotus?
The winner is ... both? At least for now. The third season of The White Lotus will stream on both Max and Binge until it ends, and will remain on Binge for 30 days. After that, under the terms of the new agreement, it moves exclusively to Max. The as-yet-unfilmed fourth season will stream on Max, most likely in 2027.
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