Warner Bros Discovery is hinting at launching its prominent streaming platform, HBO Max, in Australia by 2025, potentially reshaping the competitive landscape of Australia’s streaming sector.
Currently, the entertainment giant’s content, through its HBO subsidiary, which produces popular shows such as The Last of Us, Succession, White Lotus, and House of the Dragon, is made available in Australia through partnerships with Foxtel and Binge.
As reported by AFR, In a recent event in Indonesia, Jean-Briac Perrette, Warner Bros Discovery’s President of Global Streaming and Games, provided insights into the company’s rollout plan.
“We’ll do Europe before the Olympics… And then we will get to Asia… Asia continues to be critically important… And we will get to Asia before the end of next year with our existing markets and then roll out to new markets again, starting in 2025.”
Emphasizing the importance of the Australian market, he added,
“Australia’s a critically important market for us, where again we think our content is very strong for that market.“
Should HBO Max debut in Australia, it will significantly disrupt the content pipeline for Foxtel and its streaming service Binge. Their long-standing licensing agreement, which allows the distribution of HBO shows, is due for renegotiation in 2025, synchronising with HBO Max’s potential entry.
Besides its HBO content, Warner Bros Discovery boasts an impressive portfolio of evergreen hits such as the Harry Potter series, the DC comics collection, and Discovery’s vast range of reality TV, including iconic shows like Mythbusters. Presently, various pieces of this content are licensed to different streaming services down under.
Australia’s streaming market is already saturated with major players like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Stan, Paramount+, and Apple TV+, along with niche services like Britbox, CrunchyRoll, Hayu, and Optus Sport. With the current financial pressures, such as inflation and cost-of-living adjustments, it’s becoming increasingly challenging for these platforms. Research from Telsyte in August even revealed Netflix saw its first subscriber dip since its inception.
Reflecting on the company’s approach, Mr. Perrette said,
“Our measures of success are different than some others in the industry. We have profitability, we have share, and we have scale… The company lost over $2 billion last year, we’re now profitable in the first half of the year… It’s not just about scale for scale’s sake.“
He anticipates a consolidation in the streaming industry, predicting,
“Over the next five to 10 years, you’re going to end up with three to five big global players, in addition to maybe some local champions.“
SOURCE: AFR
Ok so what will happen to Foxtel an it’s HBO channel Foxshowcase as I have Foxtel have f o r Year’s I luv it as I can watch House of The Dragon as I did with GOT with many if the shows Australian an overseas so what happens to Foxtel HBO channel