We brought you the news over the weekend that Binge was launching in Australia today and now the site is live. Head to https://binge.com/ to check it out.
On offer is more than 10,000 hours of content including TV shows and movies. The service will be available on the web, iOS, Android (mobile and TV), support Chromecast and AirPlay, as well as set-top boxes like Foxtel TV and AppleTV. Samsung TVs are next, and LG and Hisense on the roadmap. The next generation of consoles are also expected to get Binge apps.
Like Kayo, Binge is another sub-brand for Foxtel and looks to capture a piece of the streaming market, in a landscape that’s ultracompetitive.
Binge is hanging their hat on a great range of content and user experience. That experience features a recommendation engine that is supposed to end the process of scrolling through shows to find the next thing to watch. How well this works, will take a while to determine as the algorithm learns from what you watch.
The other interesting aspect of Binge is the ‘Surprise Me!’ option. This works to randomly pull up shows, much like the experience of flicking through TV channels. It’s likely after a few tries, you land on something that takes your interest and draws you into your next binge.
After posting about the launch of Binge, many people have commented that the lack of 4K quality is disappointing and for some even a deal breaker. That’s understandable given most of us now have at least one 4K TV and would like to leverage that investment to see the best quality possible.
The other piece of feedback is that the price feels pretty high. Binge starts at $10 per month for 1 SD stream, $14 per month for 2 HD streams and $18 per month for 4 streams (still in HD).
The service does force you to enter a credit card, so probably best to create a reminder to cancel if you’re only after the trial. The details on the signup page say you must request this cancellation 24 hours before the trial period.
Also, just so we’re clear, “unturnoffable” is a terrible word and I hope Binge stops using it immediately.
Try it out for yourself with the free trial at https://binge.com.au
