9Now Review: All you need to know about the Free to Air Streaming service

Review was updated on 23 February 2022

Nine Network’s free-to-air approach to catch-up TV is to keep things clean, clear and simple, with the focus being squarely on the shows themselves rather than the fan and viewer activity surrounding them.

9Now Streaming Review

9Now is pure catch-up TV with only a smattering of extra content to distract you from the reason you’re most likely visiting the site in the first place – to get your eyeballs on that episode you missed before too many people start gleefully throwing spoilers at you.

What makes 9Now different?

The most obvious benefit of 9Now is that it is free of charge. Of course, that’s always been the case with free to air TV – as the name would suggest – but in the past your options have been to either watch your favourite shows when they air on TV, or miss out entirely. Now, however, things have changed.

What does 9Now deliver?

9Now allows you to watch your favourite in news, sport, drama, reality TV and more from all of the Nine Network’s channels – Channel 9, 9Gem, 9Go! 9Rush and 9Life. The number of episodes available to watch varies from program to program, but overall 9Now has an enormous catalogue of many of its most popular shows, along with a selection of TV shows that are exclusive to 9now viewers.

Take Married at First Sight, for example, the hugely popular reality TV show of which every episode from all eight seasons can be found on 9Now. Fan of the nostalgic hit drama McLeod’s Daughters? It finished way back in 2009, but all 224 episodes from its eight seasons are available to you through 9’s catch-up service. Check out this Channel 9 TV guide to know what’s streaming on 9Now, or search for any free to air show below.

Does 9Now have unique content?

Absolutely. McLeod’s Daughters, in fact, is one such example of a locally produced show which isn’t available anywhere else, but there is a multitude of great TV that can be found here that you won’t find on any other services. In recent years, 9now has been featuring shows that never actually air on the Nine network – such as sci-fi dramas Manifest and Timeless. Check out 9Now’s latest and trending shows below.

What about sport?

Often, sport isn’t as readily available on these catch-up services as it is on the home network itself – take the AFL and cricket, for example, which airs on Network Seven but isn’t available on 7Plus – but 9Now has a comprehensive catalogue of the sports to which Nine Network owns the rights including the Australian Open tennis. For that event, 9now creates dozens of unique live streaming “channels” that bring viewers ever single match on every single court, live in high definition – for free!

Full match replays of the most recent NRL Premiership season are available as well, as are the games from the most recent State of Origin series.

How is the 9now User Experience?

9Now is extremely easy to use, whether you choose to catch-up through the website or the app. Both of these are simple and clean with the “flat” look that’s become the new go-to design style for mobile apps. The focus is primarily on the shows themselves and the episodes that are available to watch.

Often, catch-up TV services are great on mobile devices, but less than appealing to watch on larger screens, whether it be your PC screen at home or on your TV. The big surprise with 9Now is that, when you start an episode playing in the web browser and click on the “full screen” button, the picture is crisp, clear and decidedly high definition.

Live streaming of every Nine channel is also in high definition, which means that for the “lesser” channels like 9Life and 9Rush, watching them via the 9Now app will give you much better picture quality than the regular TV channels do.

Not surprisingly, 9Now is supported by advertising, which plays before each episode and during the usual commercial breaks. There are several ads during each break. Needless to say, they can’t be skipped. But you’ll still see far fewer ads here than you would have if you’d been watching the show as it went to air.

You also need to be logged in to view anything – a move that seems to be standard with most free-to-air streaming services in Australia. Signing up is easy and of course, free of charge.

How to access 9Now

It’s pretty simple – head to the website or download the app, and you’re almost ready to go. All you’ll need to do is register a Nine account, but this only takes a minute, is free, and gives you access to the entire catalog available on 9Now. Once you’ve done that, you can stream to your heart’s content on any of the streaming devices listed a little further down.

9Now Device compatibility Guide

9Now is available on the following devices:

9Now Pros and Cons

9Now Summary – a better way to catch everything Nine has to offer

A straightforward and well-designed catch-up service for all of Nine’s stuff, 9Now focuses on the shows themselves and provides on-demand streaming of them with excellent picture quality – often better than what you’d get if you watched the shows when they aired. Supported by a modest helping of ads, it’s a well-designed service which is available on a variety of devices. It’s well worth tuning in to watch your favourite Nine Network shows whenever you need them. Feel like exploring more shows to watch? Check out this complete free to air TV guide to know what’s streaming on free to air.