Foxtel Media’s BINGE streaming service to introduce advertising

Foxtel Media’s entertainment-streaming platform is rolling out advertising for the first time, providing opportunities for businesses to connect with audiences.

BINGE executive director Alison Hurbert Burns: ‘Introducing advertising on the platform represents a truly valuable opportunity for marketers who are looking to connect with a passionate, engaged and loyal audience.’ Picture: Nikki Short.

Foxtel Media’s streaming service BINGE will introduce tier advertising onto its entertainment platform and allow companies to promote their brands from 2023.

The announcement was made during Foxtel’s Upfronts on Thursday, where a range of new programs were revealed to deliver fresh content to subscribers.

The rollout of advertising on BINGE will allow companies to book pre- and mid-roll ads on the streaming platform and it will follow a similar strategy that already exists on sports-streaming platform Kayo Sports and Foxtel Go.

Ads on the streaming service will be limited to four minutes per hour and there will also be other restrictions including a cap of one ad per hour per user.

BINGE was launched in mid-2020 and now has more than 1.3 million subscribers and executive director Alison Hurbert-Burns said it has quickly grown into a household name.

“We know that quality and variety are the drivers when it comes to choosing a streaming service and at BINGE we connect the critically acclaimed and the popular,” she said.

“Introducing advertising on the platform represents a truly valuable opportunity for marketers who are looking to connect with a passionate, engaged and loyal audience.”

BINGE was launched in mid-2020 and now has more than 1.3 million subscribers.

Foxtel will also bolster its investment in FoxTest ad experimentation to $5m to allow the company and its advertising partners to provide data from a range of advertising content.

Foxtel Media’s chief executive officer Mark Frain said advertising on BINGE is an important development that welcomes advertisers onto the entertainment platform.

“Opening up advertising on BINGE is going to allow brands to appear alongside some truly world-class content and add immense scale to our network,” he said.

“The Foxtel network is not a newcomer to the arena of ad-supported subscription TV.

“We have years of experience under our belts and have successfully transitioned several services to avenues that allow brands and agencies to connect with audiences on different levels.”

International streaming giant Netflix recently announced it would be introducing a new and cheaper subscription plan that would include advertisements on its platform.

It is the first time Netflix will have ads since it launched in 2007 and the deals will be offered from next month in 12 countries including Australia, the US and UK.