Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max (the one to watch for HBO) will join Australia’s already crowded streaming market at the end of March. This has some pretty big implications for the sector, like Binge losing all HBO shows, and content becoming even more fragmented locally. Will Australian consumers be willing to pay for yet ANOTHER streaming service?
We’re an opinionated bunch, so here are the hottest takes on Max’s impending local launch from the WhistleOut Extended Universe.
It's Cake
While I am ambivalent about the introduction of yet another streaming service at a time when streaming generally is getting worse (see password-sharing crackdowns, ad tiers, sub-par content, great shows being axed) I do think Max will be worth subscribing to.
Of course, the pricing on Max remains unknown for now but it’s really a question of making room in your household budget.
You could make space for Netflix at $7.99 per month ($25.99 at the top end) which has a dodgy hit rate: one Baby Reindeer for three seasons of Is It Cake? and other low-effort fare.
Or you could spend X amount on a platform where you know it rarely misses (see: House of the Dragon, The Last of Us, The White Lotus, and The Penguin, to name a few).
My money’s on Max.
Dylan Crismale - Digital Content Editor @ WhistleOut Australia
Right Content, Wrong Time
I don’t think it's too outlandish to say that the vibes are dark these days. There are plenty of things to be wary of in society, and in a sense, HBO content is the most complementary content to go with the current situation. It is moody, pernicious, and overwhelmingly menacing. It would fit in perfectly with 2025’s aura.
Alas, the very thing that makes HBO content suited for us to revel in is what will keep Max from succeeding in Australia. At least at launch.
Prices are sky-high everywhere. From interest rates to eggs, the average Australian is stuck paying more for everyday items and as such our luxuries are forced to take the hit. Streaming services are one of the first expenses most people look to strip back. We’ve seen this commentary from WhistleOut readers on Reddit in response to other streaming service price rises. Entertainment simply isn’t a priority right now.
Given the necessity to subscribe to yet another service in order to indulge in the Machiavellianism that is HBO, I’m pretty sure most Aussies won’t bother. Sure the caked-on Foxtel subscriber base will likely buoy Max to begin with, but we’re surely going to see fresh subscribers flail after the first run of The Last Of Us is done.
Anula Wiwatowska - Home & Lifestyle Tech Editor @ Reviews.org/au
Dreams of Zaslavification
It’s entirely possible that HBO Max will rock up in a few weeks time with a price point. that’s more-or-less the same as the one that rivals like Netflix and Paramount Plus command. If they want to play things smart, they’ll do the boring thing that every one of these services has done and undercut that competition by a few bucks in a bid to grow their subscriber base. However, I can’t help but wonder about the alternative.
The David Zaslav-led era of Warner Bros has been characterised by its willingness to ruthlessly cut costs and exploit its catalogue of cultural icons, from Batman to Barbie. It’s hard to imagine that someone at the company hasn’t taken a look at how Australian customers were willing to pay for the company’s content through Foxtel and wondered about how much more they could get away with charging for access to hits like Harry Potter and Friends. Max launching at $20 per month in Australia would be a more difficult sell but it’s not an impossible one and might be more likely than you think.
Fergus Halliday - Gadgets Editor @ Reviews.org/au
The Devil You Know
There may be a fun schadenfreude to Foxtel losing the rights to HBO content - it has not always been the best custodian, to put it mildly - but I do have to wonder if the devil you know is better than the one you don’t?
Binge isn’t perfect, but it’s reasonably priced. As my colleague Fergus mentioned, Max’s pricing is a big unknown. And like Netflix and Disney Plus, it has begun cracking down on password sharing in markets it already operates in. That’s not a field Foxtel has dabbled in yet. Max might not exactly be a consumer-friendly option.
But at the very least, Max will FINALLY sate my need to stream HBO shows in HDR.
Alex Choros - Mangaging Editor @ WhistleOut Australia
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