4 ways to watch Foxtel online

Not everyone is too keen on the entertainment industry's pivot to streaming video-on-demand, but one thing we can all agree on is that it beats paying through the nose to get an ugly satellite installed on your roof. Foxtel still sells its traditional pay-TV services and its PVR set-top box, Foxtel iQ, but it's also (very slowly) coming around to the idea of the Netflix streaming model. Its first few attempts (see Presto) experienced a failure to launch, but Foxtel subsidiary Streamotion makes better streaming apps to house Foxtel content. If you're looking to watch Foxtel online, you're spoiled for choice these days, but the service you choose will depend on your existing Foxtel arrangement and the type of content you want to stream.

The newest addition to Foxtel's stable of streaming services is Binge, a dedicated streaming platform that features some of Foxtel's best movies and TV shows from HBO, FX, and more. You don't need to have any existing Foxtel set-up to try Binge.

Like Netflix and Stan, all you need is a compatible device (most smartphones, tablets, and browsers will do the trick) and a subscription. Plans start at $10 per month for one device with standard definition streaming with no lock-in contract or strings attached. There's also a seven-day free trial if you're not utterly convinced.

Binge has premium drama, comedy, reality TV, and some of the latest blockbuster movies. It doesn't have absolutely everything Foxtel has, but the libraries are strikingly similar. All of this in addition to no lock-in contract and no need for installation.

It's mostly missing news and sports. If you get your news and sports coverage from Foxtel, there are two things you need to know: firstly, consuming news via Fox could be considered a severe health risk, and secondly, most of the sport is available on Kayo anyway.

As with Netflix and Stan, Binge only offers 4K streaming on its more expensive tiers. The cheapest one caps out at high definition.

Whatever Foxtel is paying the good people at Streamotion, they need to double it. Both Binge and Kayo are the best streaming apps to come out of Foxtel. In particular, Kayo is a genuinely innovative sports streaming platform with clever features you won't find on any other platform in Australia. It features over fifty sports, live and on-demand, SplitView for viewing up to four events at once, 20-minute highlight reels with Kayo Mini, stats and scoreboards, and key moments tagged on the playback bar. There's even a spoiler-free view if you want to dodge any scores before catching the game. It's available on smartphones, tablets, most browsers, Samsung and Android smart TV, Apple TV, Telstra TV, and Chromecast.

As a niche service, Kayo is a little more expensive than Binge, costing between $25 (1 stream) and $35 (2 streams) per month with 7-day free trial.

Sports and loads of it. Kayo offers a huge suite of live and on-demand sporting events, as well as sports documentaries, talk shows, and recaps.

Everything else. If it's not sport or sport-related, you won't find it on Kayo. No news, TV shows, or movies. It does what it says on the tin. Some sports aren't available on Kayo, like the English Premier League, which is only available on Optus Sport.

Like Binge, there's no 4K available on Kayo's cheapest plan, but other than that, you should be getting the same experience, provided your internet speed is up to snuff.

Out of all the services listed, Foxtel Go is the most simple to explain. Foxtel iQ subscribers get a Foxtel Go login that allows them to stream most of the content included in their pay-TV plan on the go. All you need to do is download the Foxtel Go app on Android or iOS, or visit the Foxtel website in Safari or Chrome, and log in with your Foxtel ID details. Foxtel Go isn't a standalone streaming service, more of an alternative way to access your traditional Foxtel subscription.

There are no additional charges past what you already pay for your regular Foxtel subscription.

Foxtel Go gives you almost everything included in your regular Foxtel subscription. It’s a companion app tied to your existing account. As such, it will consist of whatever channel packs you’re already paying for with Foxtel and nothing else.

It’s only available on iOS and Android smartphones and tablets or Chrome and Safari web browsers. The app itself isn’t widely available on any other device type, such as Apple TV, Chromecast, or smart TVs.

Unlike Foxtel Go, Foxtel Now is an actual streaming service created to compete with Netflix and Stan without the same affordable price or reliability.

Foxtel Now infamously tanked at crucial moments throughout the history of the service's most popular show, Game of Thrones. The experience was so bad that it was immortalised by the massive spike in 'Cancel Foxtel Now' searches the day after Game of Thrones' last episode aired.

But for some reason, Foxtel just won't quit on Now, even after releasing two comparatively well-received streaming services with Binge and Kayo. We're not privy to the inner workings over at Fox, but the company continues to make bizarre, ill-informed decisions around the rollout and co-existence of Binge, Kayo, and Foxtel Now. Like removing Binge and Kayo from the Foxtel Now streaming box. These three services are all owned by the same company. They work out of the same office. But you'd be forgiven if you assumed they were bitter streaming rivals trying to undercut each other.

Whatever is happening behind-the-scenes, you're better off paying for Binge and Kayo rather than Foxtel Now, in our opinion.

Foxtel Now's channel packs start at $35 per month, but that's just the basics. You can spend over $100 per month if you decide you want sports, lifestyle, kids content, and more. It's essentially the same premium pricing model as Foxtel, without the PVR set-top box included.

That depends on how much you’re willing to pay every month. As mentioned above, Foxtel Now uses the same channel-pack payment model as traditional Foxtel, meaning you can spend anywhere from $35 per month for Pop and Lifestyle to $104 per month for all channel packs included. Comparatively, Binge and Kayo together will cost you as low as $35 per month. For that price, you get all your TV shows, movies, and sport with half the headache, and none of the Sky News.

If you absolutely must, there’s a ten-day free trial of Foxtel Now that will cost you nada, which is precisely what the service is worth. If you’re a Telstra customer, you’ve got the option to take a 1-month trial of Foxtel Now’s most premium package until 30 June 2021, but Telstra customers can also bundle three free months of Binge.

Foxtel Now lacks competitive pricing, reliable performance, a decent user experience; the list goes on. At this stage, you’d be mad to sign up to Foxtel Now. If you’re going to fork out that much cash every month, you might as well get an iQ4 box for its 4K support and PVR features.