Foxtel has launched its own online on-demand TV streaming service, Presto TV.

With the threat of Netflix on the horizon and local competitor Nine, in partnership with Fairfax, set to launch its streaming video service Stan in the coming weeks, Presto TV will serve as an adjunct to the existing Presto Movies service.

It is a commercial partnership with the Seven Network and offers a library of about 100 titles drawn from shows produced locally by Seven and Foxtel, along with assorted US and UK imports, including older HBO titles.

The content on offer includes Seven series like All Saints, City Homicide, and Always Greener, while locally-produced Foxtel shows Tangle, Satisfaction, and Devil’s Playground can also be found on the service. Other titles include Rosemary & Thyme, Everybody Loves Raymond, Californication and Cheers.

The jewel in the crown is its HBO content, which will include titles such as The Sopranos, Sex and the City, and The Wire. The only HBO show in the library that is still in production is Girls, but episodes from the new season currently airing on Foxtel’s Showcase channel are not included.

Presto TV costs $9.99 a month for unlimited access, or can be bundled with its $9.99 a month movie service for $14.99 a month. All of the content is in standard definition and can be streamed via the Presto website and tablet apps.

Criticism has been levelled at Presto’s movie offering in the past for its standard definition video quality. With television sets increasingly getting larger, standard definition resolution is increasingly inadequate for some viewers.

Presto is not just restricted to the web browser and its suite of apps, as the service does support Google’s Chromecast, which allows users to send video to their TV screens via tablet devices. This is the only way to get Presto’s content onto a TV, as Presto is not available on smart TVs or connected devices like the PS4, Xbox One or Apple TV.

Competitor Netflix, which will offer its range of movies and TV shows in high definition, is yet to announce an Australian pricing model, but it is also expected to cost about $10 a month.

Currently, more than 200,000 Australians are believed to have subscribed to Netflix, accessing its international libraries of content using proxy servers for about $11 a month.

When Netflix launch its Australian service, it is expected to offer approximately 1,300-1,500 titles. A combined Presto TV and Presto Movies package will offer a similar number. With Foxtel having signed agreements with all of the larger US studios, it is expected that the movie library on Presto will generally feature a better selection of movies each month than their streaming rivals.

At launch Netflix will offer new original series such as Bloodlines, Bojack Horseman, and Marco Polo, while Nine’s Stan will offer Breaking Bad spin-off series Better Call Saul, and Golden Globe-winning Amazon series Transparent. Presto TV has not launched with any new original content within its library.