Warner Bros Discovery has confirmed that its streaming service Max will launch in Australia on March 31 and become the new platform for HBO’s prestigious shows.

Max has been billed as “the home of HBO and Max Originals” locally, which is a blow to Foxtel and its streaming off-shoot, Binge, which will now lose Warner Bros Discovery TV shows and movies which in addition to HBO includes Max originals and films such as Barbie, Twisters and the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings franchise.

Binge customers will be able to finish out the ongoing current seasons of shows that have already premiered, including The White Lotus’s third instalment, with the finale due to air on April 6, and medical drama The Pitt, with its first season due to wrap on April 10.

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All seasons of The White Lotus will also be available on Max from March 31.

Max, who’s price has not be revealed yet, will launch two weeks before the second season premiere of The Last of Us, with the acclaimed post-apocalyptic series starring Pedro Pascal returning on April 14.

The next seasons of signature series And Just Like That, House of the Dragon, Euphoria and Peacemaker, plus upcoming new offerings It: Welcome to Derry and Game of Thrones spin-off A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will now go to Max.

The Max announcement was light on details with the promise that full product features, programming and pricing structures to be revealed in the coming weeks. There will be an ad-supported subscription tier as well as premium options.

An Australian launch of Warner Bros’ direct-to-consumer streaming platform has been mooted for years but only confirmed more recently. The storied studio has a large library of titles from its long Hollywood history which includes some of the best-known franchises including Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and DC Comics.

On the TV side, HBO is the jewel in the crown, with the American premium cable brand synonymous with high-end programming and behind hits including The Sopranos, The Wire, Game of Thrones, The Penguin and Veep.

The loss of Warner Bros is a setback for Binge. The platform still has an output deal with NBC Universal’s Peacock which includes programs such as The Day of the Jackal, as well Australian originals such as The Twelve, Colin From Accounts and the upcoming Liane Moriarty drama The Last Anniversary.

Initially, Foxtel’s cable subscribers will have access to the Max slate through their IQ set-top boxes.

Foxtel is currently completing a sale to sports broadcasting business DAZN, which acquired the business for $3.4 billion.

The streaming market is competitive with Australians spending $3.5 billion on subscriptions in the 12 months to June 2024, according to Telsyte. The average household pays for 3.4 services which is projected to grow to 3.7 by 2028.

The most popular platform, according to Telsyte’s third-party data, is Netflix with 6.2 million subscribers, followed by Prime Video with 4.8 million members and Disney+ with 3.1 million. None of those companies break out region-specific subscriber counts in their financial reports.