Yahoo Finance Another streaming service is rolling out ads
Australian streaming service Binge will introduce ads early next year, following a similar move from international rival Netflix.
Binge will start showing up to four minutes of ads per hour, and there will be caps of one ad per hour per user, parent company Foxtel announced.
Advertisers will be able to place ads before and during a show.
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The streaming service will reportedly place the advertising onto an existing subscription tier, rather than create a new tier.
There are no details on any price changes. Binge currently offers three subscription tiers: Basic ($10), Standard ($16) and Premium ($18), which offer different numbers of simultaneous streams and streaming qualities.
Foxtel said the changes would work in a similar way to its other streaming services, Kayo and Foxtel Go.
“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,” CEO of Foxtel Media Mark Frain said.
“At the same time, we are being extremely careful about our offerings to ensure that we safeguard the watchability of Binge that our subscribers treasure, which will ultimately have great benefits for brands as well.”
Foxtel made the announcement during Foxtel Upfronts, where a slate of new programs were revealed.
Binge launched in 2020 and currently streams shows like House of the Dragon, Euphoria and Succession.
Binge currently has 1.3 million subscribers, up from 827,000 subscribers last year.
Netflix to introduce ads
Binge’s announcement follows that of fellow streaming giant Netflix, which will introduce a new subscription tier that includes ads, for $6.99 a month.
The new Basic With Ads plan will roll out from November 4 and will allow users to access much of the same Netflix content.
However, users can expect an average of four to five minutes of ads per hour.
The video quality also will be limited to 720p and users won’t be able to download titles to watch offline later.
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