The best sports streaming services in Australia

The rise of entertainment streaming in the wake of the gargantuan popularity of Netflix led to a lot of hope for cord-cutting sports lovers. Surely, with the sign-up-to-watch mentality of streaming services, sport would get streaming services in Australia.

Fast-forward to more recent times and the good news is there are sport streaming services out there, but choices aren’t particularly widespread if you’re a fan of more than one sport.

If you want to watch a range of live sports at home, you’re basically obligated to go with Kayo Sports. It’s cheaper than a traditional Foxtel subscription and Foxtel Now, plus it has access to dozens of sports. And that includes plenty of popular options, too: cricket, AFL, NRL, netball and WWE to name a few. While the resolution caps out at around 1080p, you can pay for up to three simultaneous streams, which means there doesn’t have to be fights over which live sports to watch at home. Plus, Kayo Sports has neat features like ‘no spoilers’ mode if you’re coming to a game late. There’s also the option to split your screen into up to four sports streams, if you want a sports bar-like view of basically everything that’s live at any one time.

For a quantity of sports streaming, consider either Stan Sport or DAZN, though they both have single-figure sports options.

Watching live sports on free-to-air tele is a mess these days. 10Play has some Aussie soccer, as does SBS On Demand, and there’s a smattering of live sport on 9Now. But 7plus is the best place for a decent selection of free-to-air sports. Here’s where you’ll find some (but not all) matches for AFL and Aussie cricket matches, plus motorsport. To help pad out the options, there’s also surfing, horse racing and equestrian, athletics, extreme sports and even esports. Additionally, there are dedicated live channels if you don’t care which sports you watch. 7plus is far from perfect, but it competes on live sports quantity and occasionally quantity, depending on your sporting tastes.

Alternatively, consider the more limited free-to-air sports selections on 10Play, 9Now and SBS On Demand.

When Stan Sport first rolled out, it was easy to make jokes that the “Sport” part of its title was well earned. Why? There was only one sport. Fast-forward to more recent times, and Stan Sport has grown beyond just rugby union. The rugby is still there but it’s paired with options for football (soccer), motorsport and tennis. There are less-populated sporting options, too, and we’re hoping the Stan add-on keeps growing. The best bit is Stan Sport has gone from low-res streams to offering up to 4K live streams for selected sports. Plus, it does a great job of offering multiple replay lengths for popular matches.

The only other sports add-on worth considering in Australia is the Sport Pack for Foxtel Now.

For a quantity of sports streaming, consider either Stan Sport or DAZN, though they both have single-figure sports options.

Whenever a new entertainment streaming service is announced for Australia, it doesn’t tend to have a lot of content at launch. That was true of Apple TV Plus and there was a similar feeling for Paramount Plus. Still, Paramount Plus grabs an edge because it’s basically the home of Australian soccer. Here’s where you’ll find live matches for the Socceroos and Matildas, alongside A-League football and the FA Cup. It’s not so great if you want more than just soccer, but considering the comparatively reasonable pricing for Paramount Plus, it’s a nice bonus for those subscribing for entertainment content. Similarly, for Aussie soccer fans, there’s a decent monthly price for up to two simultaneous streams.

For a lot of other soccer options, check in with Kayo Sports. Alternatively, for (very) occasional sports, Prime Video still has the best bundled value.

DAZN may have started in a few European countries, but it’s now expanded to more than 200 countries, including Australia. Unlike the defunct Sports Flick, it’s proven to have some staying power, too, with a couple of years of experience under its belt. A lot of that probably has to do with the range of sports on offer in DAZN. At its foundation, DAZN is all about boxing, including live bouts. It’s expanded, though, to include the Professional Fighters League and Impact Wrestling, plus the UEFA Women’s Championship League. While a lot of that is dependent on respective live times, integrated Red Bull TV means there’s an always-playing selection of extreme sports and esports.

For alternatives, consider BeIN Sports, which is also part of a Kayo Sports subscription.

For a lot of other soccer options, check in with Kayo Sports. Alternatively, for (very) occasional sports, Prime Video still has the best bundled value.