9Now review

If you’re a free-to-air broadcaster in Australia, you simply have to provide some form of streaming catch-up and video on demand service to allow more Australians to enjoy your content. 9Now is Channel 9’s version of that kind of service, taking on the likes of 10Play, 7plus, ABC iView and SBS on Demand.

9Now can run in any web browser window, but it also has apps available for Android and iOS platforms, a fairly wide selection of Smart TV platforms and select set top box options such as Apple TV, Google Chromecast and Fetch TV.

Like a lot of its free to air counterparts, the one big challenge here for some Australians is if you’ve got an older Smart TV that came with 9Now out of the box. Smart TV makers don’t always make it all that simple to update those apps – and in some cases the app providers and streaming services look at the number of users and figure it’s not feasible or cost effective to do so – and so while an app icon sits on your smart TV, it won’t connect to the service or in some cases refuses to actually play the shows you want to.

The best workaround for this if it happens to you isn’t to go shopping for a new Smart TV, but instead hook it up to a cheap streaming dongle such as a Google Chromecast with Google TV or Amazon Fire TV stick.

9Now’s service is free to use for all Australians, beyond any data usage charges that may apply if you’re watching on a service without unlimited data quotas, such as many mobile plans. It’s ad supported, with unskippable ads inserted in programs you’re watching, or delivered as part of the stream of any live 9Now channel.

The way that 9Now presents itself does differ a little depending on the device you’re watching on, but in the main it uses a quite standard carousel style interface that highlights specific programs to watch on a home screen. 9Now is a little simpler than some competitors, splitting between just a Home carousel, live channel selection and then a category picker for on-demand content, as well as a search function to find the specific program you want to watch.

There’s a stronger focus here than with some of its competitors to push its live channels than most, and within categories it’s more focused around program genres than it is, say, splitting movie or TV show content.

9Now does allow for quality settings up to 1080p, but not on every single supported platform. If you’re watching on a mobile or tablet device you should see a quality selector that lets you shift between an auto setting (best quality available, up to 1080p) or data saver setting (lower picture quality, up to 360p). However on set top boxes and browser windows you may see different options depending on your connection and device type; in some cases we maxed out at 720p, or weren’t offered the choice at all.

We also noticed that on the exact same internet connection, it seemed a little more responsive on mobile or browser connections than it did via (for example) a Google Chromecast with Google TV. 9Now also offers a “start over” function if you’re watching a live channel over the Internet, letting you jump back to the start of a progam if you missed the beginning of it.

Not shockingly, 9Now is ad supported, with ads inserted through programs. You do get some kind of idea when they’re coming with markers in the timeline that indicate when to expect them, but once they’re playing, there’s no indication of how many ads you’ll get or how much longer you’ll wait until the program starts up again. Like most of its competitors, some ad insertions can be a little jarring, too.

The 9Now library has a mix of content, and like its competitors its content offerings will vary over time. Predictably, its big hit shows – the likes of LEGO Masters, Married At First Sight and so on – alongside select sporting events such as Tennis, Cricket and NRL and a library of classic shows to pick from. While Channel 9 has been broadcasting in Australia since 1956, the offerings in terms of iconic and classic 9 programming from decades past is a little on the thin side – but then that’s true for most broadcasters, especially for older programs that may not have aged well in terms of content and picture quality.