Foxtel’s Binge launches competition for consumers to become content reviewers
Foxtel’s entertainment streaming service Binge has launched a competition for consumers to become reviewers of its content and have their opinions published across News Corp mastheads.
Winners won’t be paid for their contributions directly, but will receive free access to the platform for 12 months, worth $168.
Industry observers, however, have questioned the decision to source free consumer reviews and content at a time Foxtel’s majority owner, News Corp, is closing publications, making journalist roles redundant and closing print centres. Across the industry, many entertainment reporters and content creators remain out of work as the industry continues to shrink.
In response to enquiries from Mumbrella about whether the content should be generated by paid professionals, and the appeal of fan reviews over professional ones, a Binge spokesperson said the competition was ‘light-hearted’.
Binge launched in May
“Of course this is not a substitute for the important role that journalism plays, and is completely unrelated to any decisions media companies might make about their business models,” the spokesperson said.
“The Binge Club is a light-hearted consumer competition to find people who love watching content, and love to talk about content.”
The competition’s terms and conditions note the 10 winners will have the “chance” to have their content published across News Corp publications. Binge did not respond to a question about quality thresholds or what this ‘chance’ hinges on.
Foxtel and News Corp employees, as well as their immediate families, are not eligible to enter.
Those who are eligible have to submit a 200-word review or two-minute video about their favourite show or movie on the platform.
Binge’s chief marketing officer, Louise Crompton, asked “Does it get any better?”
“Binge has over 10,000 hours of unturnoffable entertainment. It’s the world’s best shows and movies from the world’s best creators. Binge says it’s okay to switch off and escape the world while indulging in an episode of a show you love, and another – in fact we stand for it,” she said in the press release about the competition.
“And now with the Binge Club, we are out to find the country’s biggest Bingers that love content, and love to talk about content. And in return, we will share your reviews with Australia as one of our official Bingers – letting people know what to watch, and what’s hot.
“And to say thanks, we’ll give you 12 months of Binge on us – does it get any better?”
Binge also used former Gogglebox commentators Adam Densten and Symon Lovett to spruik the competition, noting the duo made a name for themselves by talking about TV and it was “the best job they’ve ever had”.
“They always say make your passion your job and you’ll never work a day in your life, so I guess we haven’t worked in a while,” they said.
“Bingeing is the most time-efficient way to watch anything. We’re not sure this is backed by science. But we’re strong advocates.”
The competition closes on 31 July, 2020. Winners will be announced in News Corp’s Sunday Binge Guide. More details can be found here.
Horrendously tone deaf competition and offensive to writers everywhere.
“You might win the chance to have some of your thoughts published on one of our platforms! We won’t pay you like we would normally would for a content creator, but it’s great exposure and we will give you one free year of binge! Also, please buy one of our $90 pair of trackies off the iconic!!”
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I would love to subscribe to Binge, so please hurry and make an app available for Samsung tv’s and I will be one of the first to sign up.
Your people were not as savvy As Apple or Disney, or other streaming services by launching a service without providing software for subscribers to easily receive your programs.
Looking forward to your people building an app quickly.
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Why do we need professional film & tv critics to tell us if a show is good or not? Do you think there are professional critics on each TV review website ?
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This is the next in a series of puzzlingly bad steps by Foxtel Go…I mean Binge. They must be thankful that NewsCorp has big budgets to afford good creative and the rights to HBO content.
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This would be a super easy way to win a free subscription. With a small prize pool and huge barriers to enter, they’ll be lucky to get 15 entries!
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Wouldn’t use this service if you paid me to binge is horrible worst streaming service around atm I cancled before my free trial even ended
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Horrible visual identity – looks like a gambling platform.
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Good content but unfortunately a terrible app riddled with errors. On the verge of cancelling, agree with above, where’s the Samsung tv integration?
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