Today Foxtel has released the beta version of Kayo Sports, the new ‘Netflix of Sports’, and it looks like it could change the way Australians watch basketball and all sport forever.
2 screens working well in the beta, satisfying all sports needs at once
Football (Soccer) fans have for the past few years had Optus Sport and the AFL, NRL and A-League have all had apps with Telstra which have been limited in their function. The NBL has it’s own budget streaming service but all the above pale in comparison to what is on offer with Foxtel’s latest offering.
50 sports are included and on-demand. This includes all ESPN Australia’s basketball coverage, the NBL and all WNBL games that were scheduled for Fox Sports. This means up to 7 NBA games a week, usually the bigger games, college basketball, WNBL games and every NBL game.
The last paragraph alone will get basketball fans in Australia interested. Combine this with the AFL, NRL, Formula 1, 4 major European Soccer Leagues, Cricket, UFC, Boxing the list literally goes on and on. On top of this all the Foxtel sports programming is available now at launch.
The glowing sales pitch aside, how is the beta? I was lucky enough to get on to the app for a look around today and my intial impressions were excellent. The range of sport is really impressive, the only problem being that it’s not every game of some of the international sport included. It is limited to the content Foxtel shows. For example today the basketball fan could watch Lakers v Timberwolves and 76ers v Nuggets on demand when they got home, then back it up with Illawara v Melbourne United live.
The basketball content isn’t bad and combine this with what’s coming and Kayo Sports looks like value for money
This selection of content will inevitably lean towards certain teams but later in the season the access to the playoffs at the price of $25 per month whilst ensuring access to all major Australian sport will look very enticing.
The stream is good quality with but currently only two options of SD (480p) and HD (720p). Then comes one of the biggest features on the beta. The screen can be split into up to 4 screens. During my test period, I was watching the Florida Gators, Lakers and 76ers all at once. In addition to this, I was able to watch Ligue 1 Football at the same time as the NBA which was very novel. Foxtel is setting the bar high and with so much content to check out on there these features may take Kayo Sports over the top.
Android and iPhone is yet to come out but will be soon. The early signs are looking good for Foxtel’s ‘Netflix of Sport’ and at $25 per month for two screens, it’s looking like it could well end up being a game changer.
Dan Boyce is a die-hard Sydney Kings fan who grew up in Melbourne during the roaring 90's of Australian Basketball and spent far too much time collecting Futera NBL Basketball cards.
