The name? Meh. The idea? It’ll be great to see if it can kick on. Certainly securing the SVOD rights for Better Call Saul makes it a big target for attention, but will Aussies wanna part with $10 a month for just this? The reveal of more titles closer to launch date will be key. From the press release:
Mike Sneesby, Chief Executive Officer of StreamCo, a joint venture between Nine Entertainment Co. and Fairfax Media, today unveiled “Stan”, the new brand of their subscription video on demand service, launching soon.

“We are thrilled to reveal the new name in entertainment: Stan. With world-class content including TV shows, movies, and an abundance of kids shows to watch when you want, Stan is a game-changer for entertainment in Australia,” Mr Sneesby said. “Starting today we will begin to reveal some of the highly anticipated and first-run content that will be available exclusively on Stan.

“And, hugely exciting for us, we welcome Rebel Wilson as the face of Stan, an Aussie superstar who has made it big in Hollywood. Hilarious and adored by all, Rebel is the perfect fit for everything Stan represents – international star power, hugely entertaining, yet so down-to-earth.”

Rebel Wilson said: “It’s awesome to be back in Australia and I love being here to promote Stan. It’s not named after the Eminem song, I checked. When I was a kid we all used to binge at Sizzler, now all anyone is doing is binge-watching TV. So it’s great that with Stan, Australians will now have a streaming service like the kick-ass ones we already have in the US.”

Stan offers unlimited access to thousands of hours of entertainment, with first-run exclusives, award-winning TV shows, classic catalogue, blockbuster movies and an exciting slate of kids content. Stan can be watched in full HD on your TV or favourite device, including tablet and smart phone.

STREAMCO SECURES EXCLUSIVE FIRST-RUN RIGHTS FOR 2015’S MOST ANTICIPATED NEW SHOW: BETTER CALL SAUL

Deal with Sony Pictures Television also makes StreamCo’s new service ‘Stan’ the exclusive SVOD home for Breaking Bad in Australia.

From co-creators Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould, Better Call Saul is the highly anticipated prequel to Breaking Bad.

The series follows the trials and tribulations of criminal lawyer Saul Goodman and is set six years before he meets Walter White. In the beginning, the man who will become Saul is known as Jimmy McGill, a small-time lawyer searching for his destiny and, more immediately, hustling to make ends meet.

Working alongside, and often against Jimmy, is “fixer” Mike Ehrmantraut. The series will track Jimmy’s transformation into Saul, the man who puts the “criminal” in criminal lawyer. The tone of the series is dramatic, woven through with dark humour.

Starring Bob Odenkirk in the title role, the series is scheduled to launch in February 2015 on AMC in the US, and Stan will make each episode exclusively available within hours of its premiere. A second season of Better Call Saul has already been commissioned.

From Stan’s launch, subscribers will also be able to exclusively binge on the complete series of Breaking Bad, fresh from winning five Emmy Awards® for its record-breaking final season.

Adding to today’s announcement, Nick Forward, Content and Product Director of StreamCo, said: “We are delighted to have secured exclusive rights to 2015’s most anticipated new show. We’re huge fans of Breaking Bad and can’t wait to see where Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould take some of these amazing characters next.

“With Stan, Australians will finally have a value-for-money subscription entertainment service that makes premium content accessible to everyone. We look forward to revealing the rest of our content lineup in the coming weeks, including more fantastic first-run series and awesome exclusives.”

Mark Young, Senior Vice President, Distribution Sales, Australia & New Zealand for Sony Pictures Television, said: “Premium content continues to be a key driver to digital platforms, so our landmark drama Breaking Bad is a natural fit for Stan. Digitally connected audiences are sure to love Better Call Saul just as much.”