Telstra customers can save up to 80% on Kayo Sports: Here’s how
Telstra's AFL Live and NRL Live passes are dead. So which Telstra customers are eligible for the new $5 a month Kayo Sports deal?
Well, here's a great deal – potentially. For the best part of a decade, Telstra, which is a part-owner of Foxtel alongside News Corp, has offered eligible customers free access to NRL and AFL content and coverage. But not anymore.
On 2 February, Telstra and Foxtel announced, alongside NRL CEO Andrew Abdo and AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan, that Kayo Sports would be taking over the coverage part of the Telstra Live experience.
It's not free, but for the three million users that were signed up to either AFL Live or NRL Live, it's close enough. Especially when you consider the value Kayo Sports provides. Where Kayo Sports is $25 a month for most punters, select Telstra customers can now get it for as low as $5 a month.
That's the full Kayo service, which is usually $25 a month. This means you don't just get NRL, but also all 50 live sports, the viewing features, the HD full-screen video, the countless entertainment shows, all the documentaries… everything.
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Who is eligible for Telstra's Kayo Sports deal?
The Telstra Kayo Sports deal is not a one-price-fits-all scenario. You'll fall into one of three categories:
- If you're an eligible Telstra customer and an existing AFL Live or NRL Live subscriber, you can sign up to Kayo Sports for $5 a month for 12 months. This is a saving of $240 or 80%.
- If you're an existing Telstra customer with an eligible plan, but you didn't previously subscribe to AFL Live or NRL Live, then you can sign up to Kayo Sports for $15 a month for 12 months. This is a saving of $120 or 40%.
- Customers who aren't with Telstra, but join up to an eligible plan before 31 May 2021 can also sign up to Kayo Sports for $15 a month for 12 months. This is a saving of $120 or 40%, assuming you can get any sign-up fees waived.
What defines an eligible Telstra plan? Well, Telstra is being cagey on that and hasn't provided any information in the press release or on the website. We can assume it's the same as Live Pass, which means consumer mobile post-paid customers of Telstra as well as pre-paid mobile customers working with $30+ active recharges.
It's unclear if fixed broadband, such as Telstra NBN services, will also be eligible. We've reached out for confirmation.
Is Kayo Sports better than AFL Live and NRL Live?
Yes, it's true that AFL Live and NRL Live were free for eligible Telstra customers – well, free in the context that you were already paying for an eligible Telstra mobile plan. But the step up from AFL Live and NRL Live to Kayo Sports is massive.
For starters, despite being called AFL Live and NRL Live, the two services didn't show live games. They are jam-packed with stats, club news, fantasy football features and tipping contests. They broadcast the games live via radio, too. But as for watching a game, they have only been available on demand. Better than nothing, but not ideal.
Moving forward, when you access the AFL or NRL apps, which will continue to behave as they do now for the most part, there will be an option to watch via Kayo. On Kayo, you get every AFL game live, every NRL game live and stacks more – check out the full list of live Kayo sports here.
If you're unfamiliar with the service, you should read up more on Kayo Sports. It's basically all the Fox Sports, ESPN and beIN SPORTS content from Foxtel packaged in a standalone app.
You also get the great chat shows, the pre- and post-game content and the documentaries as well as awesome viewing features like SplitView, key moments and picture-in-picture. Check out our Kayo review to find out why we've called it the best way to watch sport in Australia.
Furthermore, where AFL Live and NRL Live were mobile-only experiences literally confined to a 7" broadcast regardless of the size of your display, Kayo Sports is full HD. And it's available on tons of devices: PC, Mac, iOS, PS4, PS5, Android, Telstra TV, Apple TV, Android TV and Chromecast. We're promised smart TVs and video game consoles soon, too.
Is the new Telstra Kayo deal good for you?
If you're a sports fan, then Kayo Sports in itself is a really compelling deal even at $25 a month. It offers tons of live and on-demand content and delivers it in an app that has won global awards for its unique features. In fact, you can check it out for yourself using this free 14-day trial.
If you're already an eligible Telstra customer that previously had an NRL Live or AFL Live subscription, then adding Kayo onto your existing bill for an additional $5 a month is a no-brainer. You're looking at every AFL, NRL, A-League, Big Bash, V8 Supercars, F1 and more (NBA, golf, surfing, MLB, NFL, La Liga, etc.) for just $60 a year!
Similarly, even though the deal isn't as compelling, if you are an eligible Telstra customer, you can sign up to Kayo and get all the sport you could possibly want for $120 less than regular punters, which is still worth it for any sports lover.
If you're not a Telstra customer, but you want Kayo Sports or already have it, then it's time to consider a comparison. Effectively, you can now compare your current broadband or mobile plan with what Telstra is offering. If you consider that you'll get an additional $10 of value from the Telstra plan, anything between your current plan's cost and $10 more will result in a saving – and potentially a better service given Telstra's coverage is frequently top of the pops in many regions of Australia.
For example, if you currently pay $50 a month for your mobile plan, and then $25 a month for Kayo Sports, you spend $75 a month total. Now, you can convert to a Telstra $55 plan and get Kayo for $15 a month, which would give you the same services for $70 a month. The total saving over a year is $60.
If you're in the latter, what should you do?
Head to our mobile broadband or to our home broadband comparison pages. It's free to compare and we have just about every plan in Australia in a table so you can compare your options. To look specifically at Telstra check out our Telstra NBN plans comparison or Telstra mobile plans.
Kayo recently announced a free version is coming. See what's on offer with Kayo freebies. Looking to make a switch on your phone plan? See our mobile phone plan hub.