- Max (formerly HBO Max) is officially launching in Australia on March 31st, 2025.
- This coincides with the final two episodes of The White Lotus season 3, which will be available on both Max and Foxtel’s Binge until April 30th; it also comes ahead of The Last of Us season 2.
- The streaming service’s arrival is just the latest indication of an increasingly crowded market.
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After months of speculation, Max (formerly HBO Max) is finally set to land in Australia, reclaiming its vaunted library of blue chip titles from Foxtel and all its associated platforms, i.e. Binge. And come April 30th, Max will be the sole home for streaming HBO entertainment like once The White Lotus season 3, The Last of Us season 2, as well as The Righteous Gemstones season 4 in Australia.
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“We’ve been clear that the globalisation of Max is a top priority, and Australia represents one of our biggest new markets and a significant opportunity,” said J.B. Perrette, Warner Bros CEO & President of Global Streaming.
This comes roughly 18 months after Foxtel Group broke out its $2.5 billion war chest to successfully negotiate the renewal of its “multi-year” HBO content exclusivity agreement with Warner Bros Discovery.
During a Morgan Stanley Investor Conference last year, Perrette stated: “If you think about other markets, like the two big Anglo markets – UK and Australia – our content travels extremely well.”
“We know how well our content does on both existing legacy platforms, and it drives a significant amount of the viewership. So the demand is there, and there’s unquestionably easy access because ultimately, we don’t have a huge amount of local originals we have to invest in. There’s not a lot of other costs.”
He added that the company would be “crazy not to do it” and simply “leaving money on the table” with its licensing deals.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to frame this as the final nail in the coffin for the Rupert Murdoch empire’s late-stage attempt at streaming. As The Sydney Morning Herald has previously pointed out, Binge – which boasts approximately 1.55 million subscribers – has been stagnating in growth over the past two years.
Without its most prominent selling point – and considering the limited UX it offers when compared to the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+ – its market share could be surrendered virtually overnight. Because who in their right mind would pay for slim pickings at best? Especially in this economy.
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Though the disastrous final act hasn’t been written just yet. At least not for the wider Foxtel Group.
To cauterise the wound and prevent a complete bleed-out, Foxtel has inked a new contract to provide its 1.3 million-plus subscribed households “free access” to the with ads tier of Max.
Billed as an “expanded content offering,” as The Sydney Morning Herald also rightly points out, the cable company has essentially bought 1.3 million subscriptions outright in the hopes that its customers don’t cancel to sign up with the newcomer. Desperate but perhaps necessary.
“Max’s breadth and depth of premium entertainment is unparalleled,” said Michael Brooks, General Manager of Warner Bros Discovery (ANZ).
“And for the first time, Australians can enjoy all of this world-class content in one place.”
Find out more below.
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HBO’s Max Australia Subscription Prices
As an introductory offer, Australians who subscribe by April 30th can access a discounted “launch price” for the first 12 months.
- Basic with Ads: $7.99/month or $79.99 annually (launch), $11.99/month or $119.99 annually (regular)
Two simultaneous streams in Full HD - Standard: $11.99/month or $119.99 annually (launch), $15.99/month or $159.99 annually (regular)
Ad-free content, Full HD streaming, two simultaneous streams, up to 30 offline downloads - Premium: $17.99/month or $179.99 annually (launch), $21.99/month or $219.99 annually (regular)
4K resolution with Dolby Atmos sound where available, four simultaneous streams, up to 100 offline downloads
