What kinds of sports can you stream online in Australia?
Sports streaming is a relatively new concept, and major Australian telcos are willing to bet big on it. Recently, Australian telco giants have been jockeying for exclusive rights to stream various sports leagues on smart devices. From local sports like Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) and National Rugby League (NRL) to international and foreign sports events such as the FIFA world cup, English Premier League (EPL), and NASCAR.
Some Australian telcos provide sports streaming apps. Source: Whatphone
Today, there are a lot of options for streaming just about any favorite sporting event on your smart devices, thanks to the healthy competition among telcos in the space. Besides exclusive sports streaming offerings, there are also several broadband and mobile plans that come with data-free sports streaming as perks.
Nonetheless, options for streaming sports online are mostly accessible through dedicated apps or designated platforms of service providers. These apps and platforms are studded with excellent playback functionalities that give users optimum control over their sports streaming experience. Most of them provide options for viewing highlights, sensational replays, and viewing plays from multiple angles.
What are the typical requirements for streaming sports in Australia?
- Cost:
When the majority of sports streaming services are paid, the service provider needs to recoup resources spent on highly-sought-after exclusive broadcast rights. Some carriers lump the cost of sports streaming services together with other costs in their mobile and broadband plans. For instance, OVO mobile customers are billed for access to V8 Supercars streaming as an add-on service. There are also a slew of standalone streaming services offered at a price by various Aussie telcos. We’ll get to that in the subsequent section. - Streaming devices:
Broadcasting rights for sports streaming stipulate the exact range of smart devices a service provider can stream sports on, but this is usually not an iron rule. However, you might need to have a fair knowledge of the range of smart devices supported by a sports streaming service before signing up for it. Some streaming services come with dedicated apps for specific devices. The possibility of streaming sports on big screens, such as smart televisions, also depends largely on the streaming provisions offered by the service providers. While some give you options for streaming sports on your televisions through a Chromecast or Airplay connection, others completely rule out support for big-screen streaming experiences. - Access to streaming apps and platforms:
You also need to check for exclusivity of access to streaming in sports streaming offers. For instance, access to EPL streaming in Australia is exclusive to apps offered to Optus mobile and broadband customers only. Meanwhile, you can access Telstra’s dedicated NRL and AFL apps through other networks, although you get to stream these sports without heavily gulping up your data only when you’re streaming via Telstra.
3 best streaming services in Australia in 2019
1. Kayo:
The Pay TV heavyweight is poised to break up the monopoly of Foxtel in the sports streaming arena, offering every sport on Foxtel’s rooster for just $25 per month – less than half the cost of Foxtel subscriptions. There’s also the $35-per-month premium subscription that gives you access to over 50 sports, including NFL, AFL, NBL, NHL, golf, cricket, tennis, Formula One, World Surf League, and many others, as well as other immersive sports streaming features such as split screens for watching up to four different programs simultaneously.
2. Foxtel Now:
Foxtel has dominated the sports streaming market given the exclusive broadcast rights it has to premium TV shows. When you pay the $54 per month subscription to stream sports via Foxtel, you’re basically buying the $25 starter pack – which gives you access to premium shows such as Westworld and House of Cards – and paying an extra $29 for all the sports that Kayo streams.
3. Optus Sport:
All customers of Optus postpaid mobile plans have access to Optus sports streaming services as perks. But as standalone packages, Optus sports streaming services come in at $14.99 per month, minimum. The service is geared towards football fans who relish European flair, giving access to all matches in the English Premier League, UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Europa League, and other international competitions. The service also features highlights, interviews, on- and off-the-pitch news, and lots more.
Beyond streaming sports events, the best streaming services also provide other entertainment features such as replays, highlights, news, interviews, etc. Source
Final words
The sports streaming options for smart devices are growing, with telcos such as Telstra and Optus offering data-free streaming of some major Australian sports leagues. Although this is more popular amongst males, there are also a number of sports that cater towards a female audience. This fairly new feature is really catching on, and one can expect it to be even more popular with the upcoming 5G (5th generation) rollout, which will make the streaming experience even better.