The cost of watching sport in 2025 is imposing for fans in Australia, and even the wallets of those with just a passing interest are not immune to pain.

Kayo – once seen by sports fans as Foxtel without the fat – will increase its pricing for its 4K offering in March to $40 per month, and subscribers to even the most basic package on the country’s seven main sports-focused streaming services face an annual bill of $1,668.

That’s without stumping up for 4K, multiple devices or ad-free tiers, let alone broad-appeal platforms such as Netflix and Apple TV where sporting documentaries and dramas like Drive to Survive and Ted Lasso have become popular.

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Then there are league-specific services like NBA League Pass or Tennis TV, and YouTube Premium for ad-free highlights and fan content. Some athletes like Australian tennis player Arina Rodionova are even on OnlyFans, commodifying their private lives.

Add up all the platforms and products, skews and subs targeting the most committed sporting audience, and the yearly cost easily exceeds $2,000.

There are signs the streaming fragmentation will be eased by consolidation. Recent months have delivered a takeover announcement of Foxtel by Saudi Arabia-backed DAZN, and a tie-up between Optus Sport and beIN Sports for pubs and clubs.

On the other hand, Australians have been mostly immune from the trends overseas to split packages of major rights across multiple legacy and streaming partners. As local TV networks’ advertising revenue declines, Australian sporting executives will be tempted to go the same way.

Ultimately, those meta-forces matter little to someone just trying to work out how to follow their team or favourite athlete.

Australian rules football

2025 delivers a major change in Australian sports broadcasting, brought on by a new rights deal for the AFL and AFLW. The partners are the same – Seven/7plus and Foxtel/Kayo – but Channel Seven’s director of network sport Chris Jones said the network is preparing for a “new era of footy”, including more Thursday and Sunday night matches, which he believes will mean more can access the sport without additional outlays.

“The big change for the viewers at home, you can stream all the traditional broadcast matches that Seven has shown, any match that we’re producing will also be able to be streamed on 7plus for free,” Jones said.

As Australians move away from aerials towards digital consumption, Seven is also expanding its AFL slate from two programs last year to 10 in 2025, promising new content every night of the week on 7plus. “What we’re trying to do is very much create that daily behaviour that all of our footy fans know – that for free they can jump onto Seven or 7plus, and each day they’re going to be served with new, fresh content related to footy,” Jones said.

Despite Seven’s growing push into streaming, Kayo retains live coverage of every match apart from the grand final. Fans of individual clubs are taking advantage of an offer where a $350 AFL digital membership also includes a Kayo subscription.

Rugby league

The NRL’s existing rights deal doesn’t expire until the end of 2027, but ARLC chair Peter V’landys has flagged negotiations on the next deal are to take place this year.

2025 programming largely replicates that of last year. Fans can access a handful of matches each week on Channel Nine/9Now, while Foxtel/Kayo has access to every match live except State of Origin and the grand final.

Live Women’s State of Origin also remains exclusive to Channel Nine, in the second year of the newly-expanded three-match series. NRLW fans can watch every match live on Nine as well as Kayo. Kayo is also available for free for NRL digital members.

Cricket

Huge audiences on Channel Seven/7plus and Foxtel/Kayo for the Australia v India men’s Test series over the summer are expected to be topped by the Ashes, starting in November.

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Before that blockbuster series there is this month’s ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan, shown exclusively on Amazon Prime Video. June’s World Test Championship (WTC) final in England against South Africa is also set to be broadcast on Amazon. Coverage of the three-Test tour of the West Indies in June/July is to be confirmed.

Australia’s women’s team’s defence of their ODI World Cup title in October is another to be shown on Amazon. Seven has sub-licensed Amazon programming in the past, including the 2023 WTC final, but Jones said his network showing any cricket before next summer was “a TBC”.

While Seven would love more cricket content, Amazon are becoming an increasingly influential competitor in the sports sector. The web shopping giant – which bundles its video subscription with its premium delivery membership – has recently expanded its sports portfolio with a deal with the NBA. Unless the federal government adds the WTC final – Test cricket’s most prestigious fixture – to the anti-siphoning list, which would give first option to a free-to-air provider in Australia, cricket fans are looking at an additional subscription.

Football

Nowhere is fragmentation more evident than in football. Channel Ten and its streaming partner Paramount Plus have rights to show Matildas and Socceroos matches, though – like was seen last year when Socceroos fans could only watch the World Cup qualifier against Japan behind a paywall – the national teams won’t always be on free-to-air.

The A-Leagues are available on Paramount Plus, with some games on Channel 10, making that subscription a necessity for local football fans. But the rest of world football is splintered across five services.

Paramount Plus has cup football in Italy and Scotland. Stan Sport has the men’s Uefa Champions League, Europa League and Conference League. DAZN has the Fifa Club World Cup and women’s Uefa Champions League, along with women’s football from Spain and Italy. BeIN Sports offers men’s football in Spain, Italy, Germany and England – but not the Premier League, which is exclusive to Optus Sport.

One piece of relief for Australia’s impoverished football fans is that the Uefa Champions League final will be available for free on Channel Nine. And there may be consolidation on the way following reports Optus Sport – and the Premier League rights – could be sold to another streamer such as Stan.

Rugby union

Channel Nine and its streaming subsidiary Stan are close to extending their deal with rugby union, covering the 2027 men’s World Cup in Australia and the lead-up.

The current deal operating this year sees Wallabies home matches on free-to-air, along with the Wallaroos and one Super Rugby game per week. Other matches on this year’s British and Irish Lions tour will be broadcast on Stan, in addition to Six Nations Tests, Super W, Shute Shield and the rest of Super Rugby.

Other sports

Rights for some sports are held by a single service, such as netball and Formula One on Kayo. Others like tennis are split across multiple services, though in some cases they are free services. Cycling’s Australian season is on Seven, and the European grand tours are on SBS. Local athletics events are also on Seven, the world championships in September are on SBS and Diamond League meets are broadcast for free on YouTube.

Fans of basketball can watch every NBL game live on Kayo, and one game per week is on Channel 10. The WNBL is also on Kayo, while the free-to-air partner is Channel Nine. Kayo also screens some NBA and WNBA games, and from later this year Amazon holds some NBA rights too. Those wanting to follow specific teams or Australian players like Dyson Daniels or Alanna Smith will need to take out league pass subscriptions. These are still available through the league apps and websites although Amazon has now been named the NBA’s “strategic partner and third-party global channels store destination”.