Great news! You're going to have to pay for yet another streaming service with Max launching March 31
Hold a funeral for my credit card, as Warner Bros announces it is launching its Max Streaming Service in Australia on March 31.
The fracturing of streaming entertainment just keeps on getting worse. Warner Bros has announced that it is launching its Max streaming platform in Australia on March 31, making it the go to place for all your HBO and Max original content.
In fairness, the content selection sounds like it will be pretty good. You get all the best shows and movies from Warner Bros, including the cultural phenomenons of franchises like Game of Thrones, the DC Universe, Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings.
Max will be the exclusive home of content for the returning seasons of The Last of Us, And Just Like That..., House of the Dragon, Euphoria and Peacemaker. It will also host iconic shows like Friends and Rick and Morty, plus iconic recent blockbusters like Barbie, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice and Twisters.
That's a lot of solid, high-quality entertainment.
Its launch also means there's much less of a reason to subscribe to Foxtel or Binge, which has had exclusive rights to HBO content in recent years. If you are a Foxtel subscriber for any of these shows or movies though, you don't need to cancel your subscription just yet, as Warner Bros has announced a launch partnership with Foxtel.
Customers with a Foxtel iQ box will get a Max Basic plan with ads included in the subscription for no additional cost - at least for a while.
The Max app will also be available on the Hubbl streaming box, plus Apple and Google Play stores for mobile, tablets and TVs. There will also be apps for game consoles and Smart TVs.
Pricing and availability
Actual pricing and tiers for Australia will be announced closer to the launch date, though Warner Bros has confirmed there will be a premium, standard and ad-supported tier.
If you look at Max in the US, this is what the price looks like:
- Basic with Ads: US$9.99 /month
- Standard: US$16.99 /month
- Premium: US$20.99 /month
Based on other streaming platforms and their equivalent USD to AUD costs, here's what I'm expecting Aussie pricing to look like. I'll flag this is nothing but pure speculation on my part right now:
- Basic with Ads: $12.99 /month
- Standard: $18.99 /month
- Premium: $24.99/month
We'll find out exactly how things are priced in a few weeks. In the meantime... Are you planning on signing up?
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Nick Broughall
