Foxtel Now offers the best live sport in Australia, while destroying competitors’ streaming catalogues

THIS week Foxtel launched its new online streaming service and it blows its competitors out of the water. This is why I’m signing up.

Foxtel Now offers packages starting at just $10 per month. Photo: Bob Barker.

OPINION:

LAST night was my favourite game of NRL I have watched all year and I am not even particularly fond of either the Cronulla Sharks or Melbourne Storm.

There is no argument that it was a high quality game of footy, but the reasoning behind my enjoyment was the fact I did not have to listen to the Channel Nine commentary team.

A man can handle only so much Gus Gould.

Knowing Fox Sports secured the rights to live broadcast every game of NRL with its own commentary — excluding the State of Origin — I decided to take advantage of Foxtel Now’s two-week free trial.

So not only was I able to watch the game in 720p HD which was better than the sporadic picture delivered by my antennna, but I was able to escape the Channel Nine drivel.

It has been a long time since I have had the ability to watch every NRL game, with the cost of previous Foxtel deals restricting me to free-to-air coverage.

I had tried Telstra’s NRL Live Pass streaming offer, which broadcast every game of NRL live for just $3.99 per week, but cancelled my account soon after joining because having my footy restricted to a smartphone or tablet was heartbreaking when I own a 65-inch OLED.

So when Foxtel Now announced you could get all of its sport channels for $39 per month — $29 for the sports programming and $10 for the cheapest required supplementary package — my interest was sparked.

Before you accuse me of being a News Corp shill — the company that owns news.com.au is also a 50 per cent owner of Foxtel — listen to my justification.

I am the first to admit $39 per month is still more than I’d like to pay, but splitting the cost with my roommate ensures the service isn’t a financial drain.

I need Foxtel Now to watch every Josh Reynolds game before he leaves for the Wests Tigers. Picture: Gregg Porteous

The added benefit to sharing with my roomie is that Foxtel Now works on five devices and can run two streams at the same time.

So even if I am on the road for work and my roommate is watching the game from home, I will still be able to stream the game on my laptop simultaneously.

When breaking down the shared cost of my account, it works out to be only $5 per week for the added benefit of watching the football.

Even though this is $1 more expensive than Telstra’s deal, I am not restrained to a small handheld gadget.

To make the Foxtel Now option more affordable, I will also be cancelling my Netflix account that currently costs me $14.99 per month.

And even though this means I will not be able to watch Netflix originals, my Foxtel Now package offers a sample of more than 16,000 titles of on demand TV and movie programming, including 98 of the top 100 box office movies of 2016 — more than enough for my binge-watching needs.

I can even chop and change my basic package from Documentary to Lifestyle or Kids depending on my current mood — yes, sometimes I like to get down with cartoons.

Plus, let’s be honest if you’re not using a VPN, is paying $14.99 for the vast amount of rubbish on Netflix even going to be something you miss?

There is a limit to how many B-grade action flicks one can consume.

Having the sport channels will also let me watch all of the free UFC events, although as Foxtel Now doesn’t include Main Event, I will still need my Fight Pass account for pay-per-views.

Given that Foxtel Now is the only Australian service to offer live sport and also has on demand video film and TV shows, I am happy with my decision to give Netflix the boot. There’s nothing stopping me going back to Netflix after the footy season, though.

Now I just need Canterbury to start winning some games — take note, Des.

What are your thoughts on Foxtel Now? Continue the conversation in the comments below or with Matthew Dunn on Facebook and Twitter.

News Corp, the publisher of this website, is a 50 per cent owner of Foxtel.