Kayo sports streaming service to be cheaper for Telstra customers

A new deal will give Telstra customers discounted access to online sports streaming service Kayo.

Michael Hooper takes the ball up for the Waratahs in last weekend’s Super Rugby clash against the Auckland Blues. Rugby union is one of Kayo’s key sports. Picture: Getty Images

Telstra has kicked off a deal with Kayo, giving the telco's customers $10 off all of the online sports streaming service’s plans over 12 months.

The exclusive offer, announced on Tuesday, means both new and returning Kayo users who are also Telstra customers will have access to over 50 sports via Kayo Basic for $15 per month, and Premium for $25 per month.

The offer comes ahead of the 2020 AFL season, which kicks off in a month, and the 2020 NRL season, which starts shortly after.

"Kayo gives customers incredible access to the best sporting content across multiple devices at a very affordable price point, even for the casual sports fan," said Michael Ackland, group executive, consumer and small business, Telstra.

"With an unmatched line-up of the best in Australian and international sports and allows fans to follow the action on the go on mobile, or at home through Telstra TV, their PC and their tablet.

Ant Hearne, CCO of Kayo Sports, said there had never been a better time to be a sports fan in Australia.

"With all the big winter codes just about to kick off, plus a stack of great content from around the globe including Formula 1, cricket, tennis, and golf, nowhere is safe from watching sport," Mr Hearne said.

“We are so excited to offer Telstra customers access to the most-affordable long-term offer yet, so they can enjoy over 50 sports, 30,000 hours of premium content each year and all the great features Kayo customers have come to love, like Splitview, Kayo Mini’s, Kayo Key Moments in the game and No Spoilers feature which does not spoil the surprise when you are catching up on a replay of your favourite team.”

It comes after News Corp, publisher of The Australian, announced last week that Kayo experienced its first drop in subscribers since launching in 2018.

The sports streamer had 372,000 subscribers and 350,000 fully paid subscribers as of the quarter’s end, up from 42,000 at the same time last year, but down on a reported 402,000 subscribers in November last year.

The drop has been attributed to weaker competition for the Australian Test and Twenty20 cricket teams over the summer and the conclusion of the cricket and rugby world cups.

Kayo is a service built by Streamotion, a subsidiary of Foxtel, which is owned by both Telstra and News Corp.

Foxtel is also gearing up for the launch of an entertainment-focused streaming product, and its top streaming executive is confident that next-generation technology will give it a crucial advantage against the likes of Netflix and Disney’s new streaming service, Disney+.

“The Streamotion platform has been built and designed for a multi-vertical approach,” Kayo boss Julian Ogrin told The Australian late last year.

“It’s been built from scratch, legacy free, meaning everything is architectured around a single view of the customer.

“With the entertainment service we’re launching next year, you will be able to sign up very simply if you’re already a Kayo customer, it will be absolutely frictionless.”