Binge TV streaming service

Foxtel have produced a streaming service that carries a lot of Foxtel exclusive (well, if you don’t count purchases via iTunes or DVD) like Game of Thrones and Westworld.
You can choose an SD stream pack at $10, or HD streams from $13.99. No UHD like its competitors. Not sure it is good value, but you could always “binge” on what you want then unsubscribe.
Anyway, the interesting thing is you can actually subscribe via the iOS app, although doing so is limited to the two stream/HD option of $13.99. This is something Netflix no longer allows except for grandfathered accounts. New Netflix subs have to subscribe from its website so iOS users don’t give Apple a 15% cut.

It seems Binge didn’t worry about that.

I like to subscribe to streaming services via iOS as it simplifies subscription management (turning them on and off from one collective location in settings), and you can pay with discounted iTunes cards to save some money.

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I subbed for the 2 week trial so I could see the last season of GoT. Done. Cancelled. There are a few things that interest me but most of what I want is on Primevideo so… I’ll resub when th next season of His Dark Materials eventuates, and possibly A discovery of Witches.

Foxtel has a poor record with streaming apps. We have used:

  1. Presto
  2. Foxtel Play
  3. Foxtel Now
  4. Foxtel Go, and
  5. Kayo

None of the apps seem very well written. Each had limitations
Kayo on an ATV4 was annoying. It did not have good skip forward functionality. Nor did they have resume where you left off. So, when they padded game recordings with pre-game and half time shows that I could not avoid, I just unsubscribed.

The combination of Binge and Kayo is their streaming equivalent of their traditional service. I am not sure how they will fund their expensive content with the low subscription cost. By separating sport and everything else, they will not get the live sport pull-through benefit for the Binge service.

Was talking to a guy last week who was saying he and his partner subscribe to one service at a time, watch things until they are bored then cancel and move to another one. Probably not a bad idea as long as you’re not fussed with keeping up to date with whatever the new hotness is on service x.

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We also only subscribe to one at a time, usually with gaps in between. By using a few different email addresses and mobile numbers, we sometimes score free introductory months when we sign back on.

There is usually only one or two shows I want to watch. I am not really into most of the content. I tend to watch SBS OnDemand and iView more. So, my quick inspection of Binge content was disappointing. We may cancel before the free fortnight has ended.

BTW, signing on to Binge on our ATV4 was a frustrating experience last night. However, it worked first time today. At least it is on the Apple TV, unlike Foxtel Now and Foxtel Go. We have to use Chromecast for those services.

The UI is cumbersome and weird. It gives the impression that there is not much content as yet. Shows that are on Foxtel Now/Go do not appear to be on Binge. Maybe they have reduced the content in order to be able to offer it at a low price.

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Yeah I do that. Spend a month on Amazon, Watch Picard, over to Disney, watch Star Wars, to Netflix for Stranger things. ~$10 p/m average.

Binge offers nothing new.

Kayo was a big step up from their previous laughable offerings. Was at least watchable.

Foxtel’s business model is dead in the water. They had no choice but to break up their programming into seperate streaming services.

I do the different service thing. Unimpressed with Binge, though I may return to it for next seasons of a couple of shows. I havent been in Stan for months now. Currently not on Netflix either. Just Amazon Prime (because I bought the annual) and iView ad SBS on Demand.

Did you hear about Quibi? By what I read it sounds like something made for my attention span :rofl: :rofl:

TechGeek made an article about, I think its available in Australia?