Streammotion – the Foxtel owned company behind the streaming services Kayo and Binge have today announced the launch of a third streaming service dedicated only to news. Flash is available today, offering new users a 14-day trial streaming over 20 news services, costing $8 per month after that.
At that price, it’s a smart move – flies under the radar of the streaming market and it offers a completely unique service.
From day 1 Flash includes Al Jazeera, ausbiz, BBC World News, Bloomberg TV, Bloomberg Quicktake, Channel News Asia, CNBC, CNN International, ET Now, FOX News Channel, FOX SPORTS News, GB News, i24NEWS, France24, news.com.au, NHK World, REA, Russia Today, Sky News Australia, Sky News UK, Sky News Extra, Sky News Weather, Storyful, PeopleTV, Times Now, USA Today, USA Today SportsWire and The Wall Street Journal.
It’s a huge lineup of news content, but because it uses the underlying platform that was built for Kayo and Binge, the key to Flash will be customisation and personalisation.
The user journey starts with the profile setup, after which you choose from the News channels you like – pick one or pick many, then choose from a huge range of Topics. Things like Business, Finance, Sports, Entertainment and Technology.
You are then taken into the main streaming service, with content based on those choices.
Over time, as you watch more and more live channels or on-demand content like news reports or news shows, the service will adjust to your personal taste.
Streammotion CEO, Julian Ogrin, said: “Flash is a game-changer in news media. It will transform the way Australians consume the news that matters to them by bringing together the widest range of local and international live news sources in a single, easy to use, feature-packed service.
“Flash will deliver greater control and more choice, providing access to the latest, breaking live and on demand news sources that Australians want, when they want it and where they want to watch it – at home, at work or on the go.
“Flash is the latest product built on the world-class technology platform that streams our fast-growing Kayo Sports and BINGE streaming services to almost two million Australians. It gives us the flexibility to continue to grow our news sources and drive innovation in the way people can consume news.”
Flash Executive Director, Kate de Brito, said: “Flash offers genuine diversity in opinions and perspectives, putting a wide range of trusted news sources into the hands of more Australians.
“At launch we will have unrivalled access to over 20 news sources – which will grow over time – with the ability to select and curate the views and opinions that matter to you.
“Whether your politics are progressive, in the centre or conservative. Whether you are after business news, or finance, local or world events, weather or sport. And it will be all for just $8 per month with no lock in contracts.”
Kayo has over 1 million subscribers and Binge has over 800,000 – while I don’t think anyone expects Flash to reach those numbers in the short to medium term – there is certainly a strong demand for news, and Flash seems to offer a vast range of news options.
Flash will work on iOS and Android, as well as Apple TV and Chromecast. It will also offer the same multi-view options as Kayo so you can stream multiple channels at the same time if there’s big breaking news.
