Foxtel packages for new and existing customers compared

Foxtel may have had the Australian pay TV market in a chokehold for the better part of the last three decades, but its dominance down under began to falter when streaming video-on-demand services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video hit the Australian market. Despite the success of those services, Foxtel is still a popular medium for Australians looking for their small-screen fix.

Foxtel has tried its hand at this whole streaming thing a few times over now. Foxtel Now, Binge, Kayo, Flash and now LifeStyle (not to mention Presto, RIP) but throughout it all, the traditional residential product has managed to hang in there. How it's managed such a feat will be studied for generations to come but there's no denying that Foxtel is still an incredibly popular media product here in Australia. 

If you're one of the many loyal Australians researching Foxtel's current plans and packages, you'll find everything you need to know, including your best streaming alternatives, below.   

These days, Foxtel can cost anywhere from $60 per month to $140 per month. There are five different channel packs all priced separately with a sizable discount if you sign up for 12 months at a time.

Month-to-month customers will also fork an additional $35 setup fee and will have to front the $199 charge for the Foxtel iQ5 hardware too whereas those who sign up for 12 months will have those charges waived.

The Foxtel channel packages listed above each include some variation for three different channel packs. Those three packs are Foxtel Plus, the basics, Movies and Sports, pretty self-explanatory. The short version is the more you spend, the more you get. But if you don't fancy sport, you can save money by just taking the Foxtel Movies pack. If you don't need a Netflix subscription but want everything else Foxtel offers, you can save $15 per month by choosing the Foxtel Movies + Sports package. 

Foxtel Plus is the foundation for every package. It's the required channel pack that costs $60 per month on its own (on a 12-month plan) and includes over 60 channels of generalist content (FOX 8, Showcase, LifeStyle, etc.) Foxtel Sports is available from $69 per month and includes nine sports channels (FOX Sport, ESPN, etc.,) as well as everything included in Foxtel Plus. Foxtel Movies includes all the Foxtel Plus channels in addition to 10 movie channels and an on-demand movie library from $69 per month on a 12-month plan. All of that bundled together (plus a Netflix Standard subscription) will cost you $99 per month on a 12-month plan. 

Click on the channel packs below to reveal the complete list of channels available with each pack: 

Now that we've discussed Foxtel residential packages, it's worth considering your alternatives. If you're not too attached to your iQ5 box and have decent WiFi speeds, you could save yourself some money with Foxtel Now.

Foxtel Now is the company's answer to on-demand streaming services like Netflix. It features most of Foxtel's most popular content on a variety of cheaper streaming plans with no contract.

The one major difference is that Foxtel Now is BYO device, unlike traditional Foxtel which includes an iQ5 set-top box.

Foxtel Now features most of the same content as Foxtel at every plan tier, but not everything. It also caps out at HD streaming (no 4K here) and doesn't offer Foxtel Rewards or Foxtel's Netflix offer.

With that said, the plans are definitely cheaper and come with a 10-day free trial so you can try before you buy. Ranging from $25 per month to $84 per month, Foxtel Now isn't priced to match most other streaming services but it's still a good deal cheaper than traditional Foxtel. Here's how much bundled Foxtel Now packs cost:

Foxtel's most recent product is an odd one. When Foxtel subsidiary Streamotion launched its range of Hubbl hardware (a streaming box and smart TV,) the company took the opportunity to rebrand. The name Streamotion landed on? Hubbl. So Hubbl is a company, a new line of streaming hardware, but also an entirely new platform that aggregates multiple streaming services. Clear as mud. 

It's difficult to compare Hubbl with Foxtel and Foxtel Now because Hubbl itself isn't a streaming service, but rather a platform that supports its various streaming apps like Binge, Kayo, Flash and LifeStyle. Still, if you were to subscribe to all four services, you'd get access to almost everything Foxtel offers, and if you do so via the Hubbl platform (exclusive to the Hubbl streaming box and Hubbl Glass smart TV,) you would be eligible for a decent discount thanks to the Stack & Save feature.

If you outlay the money for a Hubbl streaming box or Hubbl Glass TV ($99 and $1549, respectively) you'll get access to Stack & Save. This feature gives you a tiered discount if you subscribe to select streaming apps (Binge, Kayo Sport, Flash, LifeStyle and Netflix are all eligible.) 

Here's the Stack & Save discount structure: 

• Stack 3 apps: Save $5 per month
• Stack 4 apps: Save $10 per month
• Stack 5 apps: Save $15 per month

And here's the starting price for every eligible service: 

There's no Hubbl discount without the Hubbl hardware, however. So you're going to have to fork out for the Hubbl streaming box or Hubbl Glass Smart TV if you want to take advantage of the Stack & Save discounts. Here's how much Hubbl and Hubbl Glass cost and where you can buy them: 

If you're a legacy Foxtel customer, you might get frustrated at this next part. But if you're coming to Foxtel fresh, good for you. Unfortunately, Foxtel rewards new customers much more than it does existing customers.

New customers can save up to $41 per month if they sign up for a 12-month plan. For example, Foxtel Platinum Plus (the all-inclusive Foxtel plan) is discounted to $99 per month from $140 per month if new customers sign up for 12 months. Existing customers don't get the same deal for signing up for another 12 months and new customers will pay full price if they decide to go month-to-month straight off the bat.

The same applies for all of Foxtel's 12-month deals. So if you've already got Foxtel and you're looking to switch your package, you'll pay full price no matter which plan you choose.

Here's the list of discounted Foxtel package pricing for new customers who sign up for a 12-month plan:

Foxtel isn't as generous towards existing customers, it seems. In place of the generous savings listed above, Foxtel introduced a loyalty rewards program. Previously known as Foxtel First, Foxtel Rewards grants long-time subscribers with a series of increasingly valuable benefits the longer they've been a customer. It's not really comparable to the discounts for new customers but it's something. 

The longer you've been a Foxtel customer, the more rewards you get. Here are the tenures for each tier: 

1. Bronze: 0-3 years
2. Silver: 3-8 years
3. Gold: 8-15 years
4. Diamond: 15+ years.

There's a standard set of benefits for all Foxtel Rewards members that includes cheap movie tickets, a complimentary movie rental from the Foxtel store, discounted concert and event tickets and exclusive deals through ICONIC and Readly, but the tiered rewards are subject to change.