Fetch TV guide

There sure are a lot of streaming services these days. While Fetch TV isn’t quite the same as Netflix or Stan, both of which are supported on apps on Fetch TV, it’s still an entertainment service that’s reliant on internet connectivity.

Read on for our Fetch TV review. It'll cover all of the essential information about what Fetch TV is; how its set-top boxes, apps, and channel packs work; and your options for buying the essential equipment outright or bundling it with an NBN plan.

Fetch TV Australia is a Foxtel competitor but, like the Telstra pay-per-view service, one that has grown with the times to tap into the popularity of streaming services like Netflix and Stan. The heart of Fetch TV is a set-top box, available in Fetch Mini or Fetch Mighty variants.

Unlike Foxtel, which uses a dedicated hybrid fibre-coaxial (HFC, the same as cable internet) for channels, Fetch TV is an internet protocol television (IPTV) set-top box that’s reliant on your home internet connection to deliver entertainment. There’s also a companion app where you can stream content, too.

The Fetch TV entertainment offering is comprised of a variety of channels and apps with one of the bigger selling points being that it can house a variety of services in a single application that might otherwise require multiple streaming devices. For those who want to save on a growing army of remotes and haven’t yet looked into universal remotes, this may be a tempting prospect.

The Fetch TV set-top boxes can be bought outright from selected retailers, including Kogan, JB Hi-Fi, and Harvey Norman. Prices vary between retailers but the Fetch Mini has a $169 RRP while the Fetch Mighty has a $449 RRP.

Fetch TV is a Foxtel alternative that brings together traditional free-to-air television, streaming services like Netflix and its own stable of channel packs under one roof. You get all your entertainment in the one interface, which is accessed using a single remote and even supports universal search.

Setting up Fetch TV is as simple as purchasing either of the two set-top boxes (Fetch TV Mini and Fetch TV Mighty) through either a retailer or an NBN provider, connecting that unit to your TV and then adding all the content sources you want to access on it.

Depending on how you buy it, the ongoing cost of Fetch TV may differ. Some providers will include the cost of the entertainment hub as part of a setup fee, others will break the cost out over a period of months.

In either case, the most important thing to remember is that while the cost of getting into Fetch TV is fixed, the price of sticking with it varies on which channel packs you want access to.

There are two ways to get Fetch TV in your home: through a participating NBN provider, or via selected retailers. For those who’d prefer Fetch TV bundled with an NBN plan, it’s included with selected plans from iiNet, iPrimus and Aussie Broadband.

However, it's important to remember that the cost of Fetch TV extends beyond the price you're paying to set it up. Depending on which channel packs you're subscribed to, you might end up paying anywhere from $6 to $20 per month for ongoing access to that content. The silver lining here is that between the various channel packs available for Fetch TV, you should be able to keep costs down by only paying for the stuff you actually want to watch.

Aussie Broadband is currently your best bet if you're looking to bundle Fetch TV with your broadband plan. Thankfully, they're also the easiest to understand. There are four Fetch bundles offered by Aussie Broadband:

• Casual + Mini: NBN 25 speeds, unlimited data and Fetch Mini set-top box
• Everyday + Mini: NBN 50 speeds, unlimited data and Fetch Mini set-top box
• Entertainment: NBN 100 speeds, unlimited data and Fetch Mini set-top box
• Entertainment + Multiroom: NBN 100 speeds, unlimited data, Fetch Mini and Fetch Mighty set-top box

Optus used to be the easiest provider to recommend if you were looking to bundle a Fetch package but the provider no longer offers the same value or convenience as it used to.

Way back when, Optus let you bundle a Fetch Mini or Fetch Mighty set-top box with your Optus broadband plan or get one free through one of the carrier's Entertainment plans. However, in both cases, Optus now offers a membership to Netflix instead.

Last year, when Optus launched their SubHub streaming services management platform last year, the carrier indicated that Fetch TV would be coming to the service in some capacity. At the time of writing, this has yet to materialise.

Fetch bundles through iPrimus cost a little more than other provider at $10 per month extra for the Fetch Mini but they also include 1 Premium Channel Pack (usually $6 per month) and a bonus 6 movie rentals per month. The bundle itself is good value but you also pay a $70 setup fee with iPrimus, regardless of whether you bundle Fetch or not.

iPrimus Fetch TV bundles are available on Standard Plus, Premium and Superfast NBN plans. Here's a quick look at those plans and what they include:

iiNet offers broadband plans that include the option to add on Fetch TV with a Fetch TV Mini set-top box. Bundling a Fetch Mini set-top box won't cost you any more per month but it does come with a $59.99 set-up free while upgrading to the Fetch Mighty 4K will cost you $340 upfront. iiNet doesn't bundle any channel packs with its broadband deals, so any premium channel packs will cost you an additional $6 per month or $20 per month for the all-inclusive Ultimate channel pack.

You can see the relevant iiNet Fetch TV plans below.

Like iiNet, Internode offers NBN internet plans that can be customised to include a Fetch TV Mini 4K or Mighty 4K set-top box. If you take advantage of this offer, you won't pay a cent on the cost of the former for the first 24 months. After that point, you're looking at an extra $5 per month (on top of the cost of your internet plan) until you pay out the cost of the hardware.

The discount described above also doesn't include any of the channel costs of Fetch TV. Nor does it cover the usual $59.99 in setup fees. Still, if you're looking to bundle in Fetch TV and kick the cost of doing so down the road for a later date it's an option worth considering.

If you opt for the Fetch TV Mighty 4K set-top box instead, you'll have to pay an extra $340 upfront. In either case, you can find the relevant Internode Fetch TV plans below.

Following a $50 million investment into the company behind the set-top box, Telstra is now selling both the Fetch TV Mini 4K and Fetch TV Mighty 4K. You don't have to be a Telstra internet customer to sign up for Fetch TV nor does the provider offer any sort of bundles for either device. 

Signing up for a Fetch TV Mini 4K through Telstra costs as little as $8.25 per month over 24 months. You can also pay $16.50 over 12 months or $198 outright.

Fancy the Fetch TV Mighty 4K instead? You're looking at $16.50 per month for 24 months, $33 per month for 12 months or $196 outright.

Although select streaming apps are available on Fetch TV devices, as a service, Fetch isn't really comparable to streaming services like Netflix and Stan.

Instead of a flat monthly plan fee for access to a streaming library, Fetch offers themed channel packs for $6 per month (or $20 per month for everything). It's kind of like Foxtel's traditional pay TV model but a lot cheaper. Even if you do decide to stream Netflix or Stan on your Fetch Mini or Mighty, you will still need to pay for that service's subscription.

Still, with everything on offer, you might be wondering whether its worth signing up for Fetch or settling for a streaming service. Here's a quick look at some of the most popular streaming services in Australia and how much they cost.

While Fetch TV has app support for popular streaming services, typical streaming services including Netflix, Disney+, and Prime Video all require the usual extra monthly or annual subscription fees to access them. These are the streaming service apps that are currently supported on Fetch TV:

• Netflix
• Stan
• Prime Video
• Hayu
• Paramount+
• Acorn TV
• BritBox
• YouTube
• YouTube Kids
• iwonder
• Vevo
• Plex
• Vimeo
• TED
• Kidoodle TV
• Erosnow
• Yuppy TV

You’ll also be able to find these free-to-air catch-up apps on Fetch TV (no extra fee, but login is usually required):

• ABC iView
• SBS On Demand
• 10 play
• 7Plus
• 9Now
• ABC Kids

To watch Fetch TV you need a set-top box, which means either the Fetch Mini or Fetch Mighty. As the names imply, the Fetch Mini is a smaller, entry-level Fetch TV set-top box that comes at a cheaper price ($169RRP), whereas the Fetch Mighty is a larger, 4K-capable Fetch TV set-top box with a higher price tag ($449RRP). These boxes can be bought outright or via participating broadband providers.

Both boxes have a once-off $1 activation fee but have no ongoing cost for the Starter Pack, and they may be included in eligible plans from selected providers (more on these below) or can be added for an additional monthly fee on top of your internet. Regardless of which set-top box you opt for, Premium Channel Packs are added from $6 a pop (per month), and you can also pay separate monthly fees to add on Special Interest packs as well as World Packs.

Other TV entertainment similarities between the Fetch Mini and Fetch Mighty include:

• Inbuilt free-to-air catch-up TV apps
• Apps for Netflix, Stan, Prime Video, Hayu, and 10 All Access
• UFC (via pay-per-view and ESPN channel in Vibe pack)
• TV Store for the latest shows
• Smart 7-day program guide
• Pause and rewind live TV
• Inbuilt parental controls
• One-search feature across entire Fetch service (including apps)

Movie similarities between the Fetch Mini and Fetch Mighty include:

• 8,000+ movies to buy or rent (linked to Fetch account)
• 30 pre-selected movies each month
• Rotten Tomatoes review integration
• Browse movies by cast, crew, and genre

Fetch TV app similarities between the Fetch Mini and Fetch Mighty include:

• Free Apple and Android app
• App useable as second remote
• Watch premium channels
• Watch shows and movies (within Australia)

While Foxtel offers an IPTV streaming service in Foxtel Now, the core Foxtel offering is reliant on a set-top box. Unlike the Fetch Mini and Fetch Mighty, though, a Foxtel set-top box (iQ4 is the latest iteration) uses a dedicated HFC cable to access pay-per-view content. Foxtel has no-contract options and 12-month plans. At last check, Foxtel offered discounts between $10 and $20 off per month if you signed up for 12 months.  Signing up for 12 months also saves you $285 in hardware and setup fees.

Where Foxtel and Fetch are similar is in their pricing and channel pack configurations. Foxtel offers packages, like the premium all-inclusive Platinum Plus which features every channel, sports, movies and multiscreen streaming, and more niche packages like Sports HD and Movies HD, which offer the base 50+ channels plus sports and movie channels, respectively. Foxtel also allows you to build your own package, picking and choosing which channels and features matter most to you. Here's how much each addition costs:

• Sports HD for $25
• Movies HD for $20
• Kids for $5
• Favourites for $20
• Multiscreen for $15
• HD for $10
• Foxtel magazine for $3.95
• Multi-room Foxtel iQ4 for $25 ($150 equipment fee per box, $100 standard installation fee, and $35 connection fee)
• Antenna Pacific for $23
• RAI International for $23

Fans of popular sports like rugby league, AFL, and cricket are effectively tied to either Foxtel or its streaming spin-off Kayo Sport, whereas there are dollars to be saved for opting for Fetch TV over Foxtel, depending on the products you want. You also don’t need an HFC connection to your home to use Fetch TV and are ready to go out of the box once activated, and as long as your internet meets the 3Mbps minimum.

The content offerings differ across the two pay TV services, but Fetch TV presents a cheaper entry point for someone seeking to have access to more content and special interest channels.

The Fetch TV channels are separated into different packs, which can be bought altogether as part of the Ultimate Pack for $20 per month (a $4 monthly saving compared to buying them all separately) or individually for $6 per month. Every extra channel you buy adds to your ongoing monthly cost. These Premium Channels are:

• Vibe Pack
• Knowledge Pack
• Variety Pack
• Kids

The Fetch TV Vibe Pack includes 8 channels across sports, music, comedy, as well as reality genres, and costs $6 per month. The 8 included channels are:

The Fetch TV Knowledge Pack costs $6 per month for access to 18 channels that cover news, adventure, and factual storytelling from around the world. The 18 included channels are:

There are ten channels in the Fetch TV Variety Pack, covering classic shows, music, and drama, which costs $6 per month to access. The 10 included channels are:

The Fetch TV Kids Pack costs $6 per month to access and comes with seven kid-friendly channels. These seven included channels are:

There are also six special interest packs that can be added to Fetch TV, one of which is pay-per-view, others have a monthly fee, and one that’s free.

UFC

UFC on Fetch TV is a pay-per-view app for UFC championship fights.

Optus Sport

If you’re not an Optus customer who has Optus Sport included with your account, Optus Sport on Fetch TV costs $14.99 a month to cover official broadcasting for the following leagues:

Optus Sport used to have the rights to UEFA Champions League and more but those leagues have since switched homes to Stan Sport.

If football's not your jam, there's a growing number of sports streaming services in Australia which is great for some healthy competition but bad if you're a fan of many sports and leagues.

beIN SPORTS Pack

The beIN SPORTS Pack for Fetch TV costs $19.99 per month for three channels that cover global tennis, football, and rugby. The three included channels are:

TBN Inspire and Good

The TBN Inspire and Good channels are free pack Christian channels. 

Horse & Country

Horse & Country is a Special Interest Fetch TV Pack meant for fans of equestrian sports and country living, which costs $9.99 per month. It includes a focus on these four areas:

Italian Pack

This World Pack costs $15 extra per month and comes with four popular Italian channels that cover news, movies, and entertainment. The four included channels are:

As an IPTV streaming service, Fetch TV requires broadband internet of a certain speed to be accessible. Fetch and Fetch HD services require a 3Mbps download speed, and are supported on ADSL2+, hybrid fibre-coaxial (cable), and NBN broadband services. Fetch recommends at least 15Mbps for streaming 4K content, but flags that 20–25Mbps is the better minimum speed range for 4K.

One hour of standard-definition viewing works out to 1GB of data per Fetch TV set-top box, and it’s roughly 2.5GB per hour of HD viewing per Fetch TV set-top box. While 4K data-streaming estimates aren’t provided by Fetch, 15Mbps streaming works out to around 6.75GB each hour per Fetch TV set-top box, while the 20–25Mbps range comes to about 9GB to 11.25GB every hour per Fetch TV set-top box.

Find out more about streaming requirements with our guides to speed needs and data usage:

• How much data do you need?
• Which NBN speed do you need?
• What is Mbps?
• 4 straightforward steps to switching NBN providers

While  the cost of adding a Fetch TV Mighty or Mini to your home entertainment experience is certainly more expensive than a more mundane streaming stick, the benefits are commensurate. Fetch TV offers access to content and channels that are simply niche for a one-size-fits-all solution like Netflix. Throw in the option to save, rewind and rewatch content later down the line, and there's definitely value here for those with special interests and the desire to pursue them.