Streaming Services Australia: Compare providers, what to watch, plans

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The days of the traditional pay TV subscription are simply gone. As such, if you’re on the lookout for more streaming services, Australia offers a myriad of options. These days we are spoilt for choice when it comes to streaming services and streaming television.

No matter what genre you prefer, whether it be drama, sport, reality TV, or comedy no doubt there is a TV streaming service out there that specialises in it. In most cases, these TV streaming services cater for a little bit of everything – and often include a free trial.

What’s on streaming services Australia?

With so many streaming services, Australia has a plethora of options. However, it’s not fair to compare them all on the same criteria.

There are some video streaming services that are focused mainly on original TV series (HBO is a prime example), while another streaming platform might focus on streaming the latest blockbusters.

Other streaming services can be more specific again, with a focus on sports streaming, documentaries, or lifestyle and reality TV.

Whether you’re looking for specific streaming service content or just a general browse, good news, this is the place for you. And if you’re looking for a free trial, this is also the place for you!

Streaming services for movies

If you love feature films and box office bonanzas then there are streaming services with you in mind.

Platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video invest billions of dollars into their original features. Netflix is famous for its award-winning original film and TV content – they have come out with some of the biggest movies of this century – while they also stream some of the best films and TV shows ever made.

Amazon Prime Video, on the other hand, seems to have every big box office flick express from the cinema to your Prime Video account. Some of these are exclusive and included while others are available on their marketplace to rent, something Netflix doesn’t offer with any of its monthly subscription plans.

Two streaming services that are trickier to classify are DocPlay and iwonder. Documentaries can be classed as movies and mini-series depending on how your opinion. But for all of your documentary content, DocPlay and iwonder are serious contenders for your top choice.

As you can see the list goes on and on for personal streaming service needs. For pay-per-view services that let you buy movies, there’s also iTunes, Telstra TV Box Office, Apple TV, and Microsoft Movies & TV.

On these streaming services, you can catch some of the latest and greatest movies such as:

Streaming services for TV series

Once again, there are more specific platforms for streaming TV series. Yes, Netflix has some of the best originals out of any streaming platform. Stranger Things, Orange is the New Black, Bridgerton are just a few brilliant examples) but this is well-known.

And Amazon Prime Video is perhaps the best streaming service available with amazing original TV series included with the monthly subscription (Reacher, The Rings of Power, The Boys), so let’s focus on the others.

Disney Plus gets an honourable mention in this category – not only due to their extensive Star Wars, Marvel, Disney, and Pixar libraries, with which you can stream movies to your heart’s content instantly, but also because they have the additional adult-themed content section called Star. 

The epic drama Shogun is one of the best ones coming out of the Disney+ catalogue this year, plus the new season of Doctor Who introducing Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor.

Stan invests a lot of its budget in TV series, whether it be classics like Frasier and Scrubs, or exclusive deals with the hottest TV shows like Your Honour, Better Call Saul, and Clarice. You can also access some of the best of British television on Stan, including the previous seasons of the 2005 Doctor Who, Red Dwarf, and the fabulous lockdown series Staged.

There is also Hayu, which leads the market in reality TV and lifestyle programming, like the ever-popular Keeping Up With the Kardashians, for example.

But the best streaming service for TV has to be BINGE, which has access to the entire HBO library alongside pay TV giant Foxtel. This means you can access TV shows such as House of the Dragon and The Sopranos for a small monthly subscription!

For the gold standard in television shows, HBO is the place to go – and for HBO in Australia, BINGE is the service for you. They also have some good exclusive films and offer simultaneous streams on up to four devices, but without the extensive range of amazing TV shows, they would be just another streaming service. BINGE currently offers a 7-day free trial to see what all the fuss is about.

Speaking of HBO shows, Foxtel Now is another alternative, though the service offers channel packs similar to that of Foxtel’s. Nonetheless, there’s a free 10 day trial offer that new customers can take advantage of, which gives you access to over 70 channels of sports, drama, movies, documentaries, kids TV, and more.

Paramount’s streaming service, Paramount Plus, provides compelling original productions, as well as a hefty catalogue of shows from CBS, Showtime, MTV, Nickelodeon, and Comedy Central. Some of its originals include Yellowstone prequel shows 1883 and 1923, as well as crime thrillers like Mayor of Kingstown and Tulsa King.

If it’s unrivalled British content you’re after, streaming on BritBox will be worthwhile. Featuring content from the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and Channel 5, you’ll never run out of excellent UK programming. Plus, they also have originals that are just as binge-worthy with the likes of Crime, Magpie Murders, Hotel Portofino, and many more.

Apple TV+ is also producing their own original content, some of which includes the latest releases Presumed Innocent starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Sugar starring Colin Farrell, and The New Look starring Ben Mendelsohn. There’s more to stream on Apple TV+ with its ever growing library, which also includes hits like Ted Lasso, Severance, Morning Wars, Acapulco, The Big Door Prize, and more.

All these streaming services make their fabulous TV series content available through Apple TV, Android TV, Smarts TVs, and set-top boxes including the Telstra TV (moved to Fetch after Telstra’s acquisition of the former).

Make sure you look at some of the best series streaming right now, here are a few to start with:

Streaming services to watch sports

There is more to sports subscription streaming services than meets the eye. While Kayo Sports is often the first streaming name in the sports streaming market that comes to Australians’ minds when they think about Australian sports streaming, there is a tonne of other alternatives with their own benefits.

Obviously, Fox Sports is the home of everything sport and perhaps one of the best sports streaming services for that reason, but some people can’t justify a Foxtel subscription for multiple reasons. Both services, however, offer free trials, so you could always try them out and see what you think.

If you’re a combat sports fan and only like the pay-per-view events then something like the Main Event from Kayo or DAZN may be for you rather than Fox Sports. Perhaps even the WWE network if you like some theatrics to your fights – or fights with your theatrics. Sports Flick is also a good service which offers minor-level Australian sports as well as combat sports, and women’s leagues – an underrated feature that some streaming services simply forget about.

For fans of football, tennis and rugby, beIN SPORTS offers premium streaming access and coverage to Serie A, English Football League, Scottish Football, Bundesliga, Ligue 1, Copa Libertadores, ATP & WTA Tennis, European Rugby Union, and more.  It’s also worth noting that beIN channels, which used to be available via Kayo or Foxtel, will no longer be available on Kayo or Foxtel after June 30, 2023, and will only be accessible through beIN SPORTS.

Other huge streaming service platforms have realised the popularity and potential of sports. Amazon Prime Video offers all the action from the world of swimming live and on demand – and with the Prime Video app, you can watch all your favourite sports with Amazon Prime Video on the go, wherever and whenever you want.

Stan made the jump recently as well with its sports streaming service Stan Sport – the new home of Rugby, UEFA Champions League, Grand Slam Tennis, INDYCAR, World Endurance Championship, and the World Rally Championship.

And all of these great streaming services offer simultaneous streams, so you can watch your favourite sports with your friends and family members at the same time. And they are all available on Apple TV, Android TV, and through set-top boxes like Telstra TV and Fire TV Stick.

When it comes to sport on streaming TV, catch all the best live sports on these streaming services which includes:

Watching on free to air

There’s also a great amount of content you can watch without paying any subscriptions with free to air and its catch-up streaming services. In Australia, we have 7plus, 9Now, 10 Play, SBS On Demand and ABC iView.

To explore TV shows and movies, you can start searching with our free to air streaming library below.

Best streaming services Australia

A new streaming service seems to pop up every few months, each with a unique way of offering us their content.

This huge choice when it comes to watching and streaming TV shows and movies puts us in the driving seat. However, it also makes it difficult to decide what to watch – which is why this article is here, to make the process of choosing the best streaming service easier.

And with every streaming service, we aren’t restricted to one device – meaning we can enjoy our favourite TV shows and movies on simultaneous streams on one account (up to four devices in many cases), putting an end to those arguments about what to watch.

As well as major streaming services like Netflix, Prime Video, BINGE, and Disney Plus there are also a heap of lesser-known providers like DocPlay, iwonder, and DAZN.

There are a number of ways you can stream on a range of devices, all you need is an internet connection and you’re good to go – you can watch these services through your Apple TV, Android TV, Chromecast, AirPlay, set-top boxes like Fetch and Fire TV, and even games consoles.

And don’t forget, there are still free-to-air networks and their respective catch-up services for all the best TV shows from each broadcaster. While viewing is ad-supported, these platforms still offer a diverse variety of content to suit the streaming desires of any viewer!

The majority of top streaming services also offer a free trial so that you check out multiple streaming platforms before settling on your favourite.

There are now so many available in Australia that we have decided to bring them all together and give you the low down – so you can decide for yourself the best streaming service in Australia.

From a free trial and long-term subscriptions to cancel at anytime contracts, it’s all here for you to consider.

Here is a comprehensive selection of the best streaming services Australia to stream movies, TV series, documentaries, and even award-winning news!

Last audited 1 September 2024

Sports streaming services

Looking to watch all the best live sports action from around the globe? You can stream everything you want to see and more with the following providers.

Last audited 1 September 2024

Streaming service free trials

One of the best things about the introduction of so many streaming services offering TV shows, movies and sports has been that now almost all of them offer a free trial to get you in.

There’s nothing quite like trying before buying with a free trial and getting access to your favourite content without paying a cent.

Most streaming services in Australia offer a free trial and plans that you can cancel at any time. These include the likes of the BINGE streaming service, Foxtel Now, Amazon Prime Video, BritBox, DocPlay, Paramount Plus, Disney Plus, Kayo Sports, beIN SPORTS, and more.

Unfortunately Netflix Australia and Disney Plus do not offer free trials, having discontinued this offer for new customers.

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