How to watch UK Sport in Australia

Just moved to Australia and still want to watch your favourite sports team?

Below we’ll run through the (legal) options available to you.

Premier League

The first and simplest (but limited) option to watch premier league games is on the free-to-air SBS channel. SBS shows ONE live Premier league game a week and also a weekly roundup on The World Game show on Monday nights.

The games are available on SBS’s HD channel and as such, picture quality is very good.

The games can also be viewed via the SBS World Game App on Android or iOS devices.

A list of games they’ve shown this season can be found here.

For more comprehensive coverage (every single Premier League game), then you will need access to Optus Sport. To do that, you will need an eligible Optus plan (mobile, tablet or broadband).

Optus Sport is included with selected plans or can be added as an extra for $15 per month.

Optus Sport is a streaming service so picture quality will depend on the speed of your connection.

If you’re an Optus Broadband customer, you can choose a package which includes a Fetch TV set top box. (Full details about Fetch TV can be found at https://www.fetchtv.com.au/) Optus Sports channels are available through the STB and the box offers a simple way to view on your TV.

For eligible Optus customers, Optus Sport is also available as an app for Android and iOS devices (including Generation 4 Apple TV’s).

If you have a Google Chromecast connected to your TV, it’s also possible to cast from the Optus Sport App to the Chromecast.

Speaking from personal experience, picture quality has always been excellent with no buffering.

The App provides comprehensive coverage – all games, interviews, highlights shows, stats etc.

Football League

Football league games are available via beIN Sports.

BeIN Sports is available to access via 3 different methods.

If you have a Foxtel (Satellite TV similar to Sky) package, then beIN Sports Channels (1,2 & 3) can be added to your subscription (as part of the Foxtel Sports Pack) for $39 per month (HD channels) or $29 per month (SD channels). Choosing this option also gives you access to beIN Sports Connect (a streaming service available on computers and mobile devices).

You can subscribe to beINSports Connect separately for $19.99 per month or $199.99 per year.

N.B. Although beIN Sports is also available via Fetch TV, you  only get access to beInSports Ch 1. Unfortunately, Football League games are shown on beINSports Ch 2.

UEFA Champions League

UEFA Champions League games are shown on beINSports Channel 1. See methods above for how to access beIN Sports ch 1.

Scottish Football

beIN Sports Channels 1 & 3 have LIVE games from the Scottish Premiership and Scottish Championship plus the SPFL Highlights Show every week.

Spanish Football

La Liga games are shown live on beIN Sports channel 2 & beIN Sports connect

German Football

Bundesliga games shown live on beIN Sports channels 1 & 3 & beIN Sports connect

Italian Football

SERIE A games are shown live on beIN Sports channels 1 & 3 & beIN Sports connect

World Cup

Optus Sports is showing all the World Cup games whilst SBS will simulcast games featuring the Socceroos.

Other Football

Major league soccer, Brazilian, Argentinian & Turkish league football is available on the beIN Sports channels.

Rugby Union

RBS 6 Nations

Shown Live on the beINSports channels

Aviva Premiership

Shown on the beINSports channels

European Rugby Champions Cup

Shown on the beINSports channels

European Rugby Challenge Cup

Shown on the beINSports channels

Rugby League

English Super League games (Live & replays) are shown on the Foxtel ‘Fox League’ channel which is part of the sports pack.

F-1

The free-to-air TV channel – Ch.10 will be showing abridged replay of the races (starting after the race’s conclusion). They will also be showing the Australian GP live.

For complete coverage, Fox Sports will be broadcasting all races live on their Fox Sports 506 channel. The channel is available in SD and HD (if you subscribe to the HD channels) and also streaming via Foxtel Now. In addition to the actual race, Foxtel also shows every qualifying session and official practice sessions.

Cricket

Foxtel usually shows England Test Matches & Limited Overs games on their ‘Fox Sports More’ channel, which is available as part of the Fox ‘Sports Pack’ ($29 per month on top of the basic Foxtel or Foxtel Now Subscription cost.

Note:

Optus, beINSports & Foxtel all have streaming options available. With regards the Foxtel Now streaming service, I would recommend taking advantage of the 2 week free trial they offer. We have personally found the Foxtel streams to be of very low quality on both occasions we have trialled the service at separate addresses.  Our internet connection speed wasn’t the issue as we had a high-speed Fibre to the premises (FTTP) connection. Optus has always provided a high quality stream, whilst we found beIN Sports connect to be satisfactory.