Peter Dinklage From The HBO Series 'Game of Thrones' Arrives At The 66th Primetime Emmy Awards In Los Angeles
IN PHOTO: Actor Peter Dinklage from the HBO series "Game of Thrones" arrives at the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, California August 25, 2014. Reuters/Lucy Nicholson

The battle for the best subscription video on demand, or SVOD, has begun even before Netflix touches down in Australia. The newly announced Presto Entertainment has scored an exclusive deal with international studios HBO and Showtime, though the coveted “Game of Thrones” is missing from its content offering.

Earlier in December, Foxtel and Seven Media West announced they are joining forces to form Presto Entertainment, an upcoming streaming media service in the country. It will be launched early 2015, before the dreaded Netflix lands in March.

Read: Foxtel, Seven Form Presto Entertainment Ahead of Netflix Australia Launch

The new SVOD service has now announced the specific program content included in its line-up. Included in the package are HBO shows “The Sopranos,” “The Wire,” “Boardwalk Empire,” Entourage,” “True Blood,” “Six Feet Under,” “Band of Brothers,” “Veep,” “Hung,” “The Pacific,” “Big Love,” Deadwood” and “ “Girls,” as well as Showtime programs “Dexter,” “The Borgais,” “Brotherhood,” “Nurse Jackie,” “Ray Donovan” and “Californication.”

Noticeably, the very popular “Game of Thrones” isn’t one of the programs that will be offered in the service. This is because HBO decided not to make the fantasy drama on any streaming services worldwide.

“While Presto Entertainment has exclusive access to many hit HBO programs including ‘Entourage,’ ‘Sopranos,’ ‘Boardwalk Empire’ and many others, HBO has made the decision that ‘Game of Thrones’ won’t be available on any SVOD services worldwide. ‘Game of Thrones’ will continue to be available on Foxtel or Foxtel Play,” a spokesman told Mumbrella.

It was not cleared, but it is presumed that HBO GO, the cable network’s own SVOD service, will still stream “Game of Thrones.” A report claims that HBO is hoping to launch a standalone streaming service as the show’s new season premieres in April.

Meanwhile, Stan, the rival service from Fairfax Media and Nine Entertainment Co, has confirmed a non-exclusive deal with ABC Commercial. Stan, which will also launch in January, already has an agreement with Showtime.

“We’re very proud to support Australian-made productions and offer Stan’s members a wide range of programming that can be viewed whenever and wherever they want,” Stan’s director of content and product Nick Forward said. “Our partnership with ABC Commercial shows a continued commitment to investing in Australian content.”