Guide · Streaming sport & cutting the Foxtel box
How to watch the footy and cricket online without Foxtel.
Here's the short version. You do not need a Foxtel box or a dish to watch AFL, NRL and cricket anymore. Three routes carry the sport over your home internet: a dedicated sports streaming app, the free-to-air apps, and a general subscription streaming service that sometimes holds a code. Each costs a fraction of a full Foxtel package. Below: what each route carries, what you roughly pay, the internet you need to stream smoothly, and the one honest catch that trips people up.
Last updated 4 July 2026 · by Alien IT Solutions
The box is optional now, and that is the whole story
For years, live footy and cricket meant a Foxtel box bolted to the wall, a dish on the roof and a bill that bundled hundreds of channels you never touched. That deal is over. The same live sport now streams over the internet you already pay for.
The trade is simple. Instead of one big package that carries everything, you pick the route or two that cover the sport you actually watch, and you pay only for those. For a household that wants the footy and the cricket and not much else, that usually costs a good deal less than a full package.
The rest of this guide names the three routes, tells you honestly what each one is good for, sorts out the internet question, and warns you about the one thing that catches people out.
The three ways to get the sport without a box
Most households end up using two of these together. That is normal, not a failure.
A sports streaming app
A dedicated paid app that carries the live coverage of a code or two straight over your internet. This is the closest thing to what the Foxtel sports tier used to be, minus the box. One monthly subscription, watch on a TV, phone or laptop.
The free-to-air apps
The free channels all have their own streaming apps now, and they carry a real slice of the season at no cost: selected footy matches, the marquee cricket internationals, the finals in some codes. Worth checking first, because free is free.
A subscription streaming service
A general streaming service, the sort you might already pay for films and shows, occasionally holds the rights to a competition or a code. It is rarely the main route for footy, but it is worth a look if you already subscribe.
What each route roughly costs against a full package
No dollar figures here, because prices move and rights move faster. What holds steady is the shape of the maths, so here it is in plain terms.
- The free-to-air apps: nothing. They cost you no more than the internet connection you already have. Whatever slice of the season they carry, you watch it for free.
- One sports streaming app: a fraction of a full package. A single dedicated app costs well under what Foxtel charged for its base package with the sports tier stacked on top. You are paying for one thing, not a bundle of channels going to waste.
- Two or three services stacked: the gap narrows. If you need one app for the AFL, another for the NRL and a third for the cricket, the total climbs and the saving shrinks. It can still beat a full package, but only just, so do the sum for your household.
The honest rule of thumb: one code, big saving; every code, modest saving. Work out which sports you genuinely watch before you sign up to cover ones you do not.
The internet you need to stream sport smoothly
Live sport is the toughest test you will put your connection through, because a buffer at the wrong moment means you miss the try or the wicket. The good news is that the bar is lower than people fear.
One high-definition stream sits comfortably on a steady connection of around ten to fifteen megabits per second, and most nbn plans clear that with room to spare. If two people want two different games in two rooms, double it. The headline speed on your plan matters less than two other things: whether the connection holds up during the busy evening hours, and how strong the WiFi signal reaches the television.
The single best upgrade for match night costs nothing but a cable. A wired connection from the modem to the TV, or to a streaming stick, beats WiFi every time for a big game. If a cable is not practical, get the modem close to the TV or add a mesh point in the room, and keep the microwave and the cordless phone base off the same shelf.
Sports app, free-to-air, or a subscription service?
Three routes to the same match. Each one is the right tool for a different household.
A straight word for the free-to-air route, because it gets overlooked. If you only really care about the finals, the State of Origin and the marquee Test cricket, the free apps may cover almost everything you watch for nothing at all. Check what they carry this season before you pay for anything. The trap runs the other way too: assuming free covers your whole season when it only carries the headline games.
The honest catch nobody warns you about
The rights move, season to season. This is the one real downside of cutting the box, and it is worth stating plainly. Broadcast rights are sold in blocks for a set number of years. When a deal ends, a league can sell to a different service, and a code that streamed on one app this season can land on another next season. What was true when you subscribed may not be true a year later.
So check before you commit, every season. Before you lock in a subscription for the year, confirm the app you are eyeing actually carries the games you want for the season ahead, not the season just gone. Five minutes of checking saves a year of paying for a code that has moved elsewhere.
Watch the annual versus monthly choice. An annual plan is cheaper per month, but it also bets that the rights stay put. If you are not sure the coverage will hold, a monthly plan you can drop costs a little more but keeps you free to follow the sport wherever it goes.
How to make the switch without regret
Cutting the box is easy. Cutting it and then missing half your season is the mistake to avoid, and it comes down to doing the homework in the right order.
Start with the sport, not the service. Write down the codes and competitions you genuinely watch across a year, then find where each one lives this season. Only then do you know how many services you actually need, and whether the sum still beats a full package for your household.
- List what you really watch. Be honest. The footy every week and the Boxing Day Test is a different bill from every code, every round, all summer.
- Match each code to its home this season. Check the current rights for each sport before you subscribe, because last season's answer may already be wrong.
- Add up the total, then compare. Total the services you would actually need against a full Foxtel package with the sports tier. One or two apps usually win; a full stack is closer than you think.
Ten unhurried minutes with a list beats signing up in a hurry and discovering the game you wanted is on the app you did not buy. If you want a hand working out where your current bills sit, that is what we do. See whether you still need the Foxtel box on your Telstra bundle, and once the sport is sorted, look at how to cut your streaming bills across everything else.
Questions people ask
Can I watch AFL and NRL without a Foxtel box?
Yes. There are three routes. A dedicated sports streaming app carries the paid live coverage over the internet, no box or dish. Free-to-air apps stream a slice of matches at no cost. And a general subscription streaming service sometimes holds a code or a competition. Which route carries which game shifts by season, so check the current rights before you pay.
Is streaming the footy cheaper than a full Foxtel package?
Usually, yes. A single sports streaming app is a fraction of a full Foxtel package with the sports tier added, because you pay for one thing instead of a bundle of channels you never watch. Stack two or three streaming services to cover every code and the gap narrows. Add up what you would actually use before deciding.
What internet speed do I need to stream sport without buffering?
For one high-definition sport stream, a steady connection of around ten to fifteen megabits per second is comfortable, and most nbn plans clear that easily. What matters more than the headline speed is stability during the evening peak and a solid WiFi signal to the TV. A wired connection to the TV beats WiFi for a big match every time.
Can I watch cricket online without Foxtel?
Yes. Some cricket, often the marquee home internationals, is broadcast on free-to-air and streams free through the broadcaster's app. The rest, and the full multi-format coverage, tends to sit behind a sports streaming subscription. As with the footy, exactly which matches land where changes from season to season, so confirm before a series starts.
Do I need a smart TV to stream the footy?
Not necessarily. A smart TV with the apps built in is the tidiest option, but a cheap streaming stick or box plugged into any TV with an HDMI port does the same job. You can also cast from a phone or watch on a tablet or laptop. The app, the login and a decent connection matter more than the screen.
Why do the streaming services keep changing which games they show?
Because broadcast rights are sold in blocks for a set number of years, and when a deal ends the leagues can sell to a different service. A code that streamed on one app this season can move to another next season. It is the single biggest catch of cutting the box, so always check where the current season actually lives before you commit.
Cutting the box is one saving. What about the rest of the bill?
If the sport streams fine without Foxtel, the rest of your telco spend probably has room to move too. Send us your bill: the audit is free, and we'll tell you straight where you're overpaying.
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