With the growing number of IPTV service providers, it can prove difficult to figure out which is the best match to your entertainment needs. In this article, we provide an in-depth feature-by-feature comparison of the top two players in the IPTV market — Foxtel Now and Fetch TV — to help you find the best fit.
What Makes Foxtel Now Different?
Foxtel Now, formerly known as Foxtel Play, offers cable-free access to the amazing content of Foxtel. You begin with the Essentials pack, which consists of the Pop and Lifestyle channel packs. Signing up to this pack is mandatory in order to get the premium ones — Drama, Movies, Kids, Docos and Sport.
And What About Fetch TV?
Fetch TV is an IPTV company that also does an exceptional job of bringing all your viewing options within reach of a single remote. It collates all available FTA channels and catch-up services, as well as Netflix, hayu, Prime Video, 10 All Access, and Stan, and online viewing like YouTube. And if that’s not enough, it also has its own premium IPTV service.
What does Foxtel Now Offer?
Foxtel Now offers channel packages from as little as $25/month for both the Pop and Lifestyle packs, which comprise the Essentials pack. You can add Drama for only $10/month while Movies is an additional $20/month. The Sports pack can be added at $29/month. Kids and Docos packs are only available as part of the $104 all-packs bundle. Viewers can change their plans each month or cancel their subscriptions anytime. Foxtel Now also offers 10 days free. Best of all, you can grab the Foxtel Now free trial whether you’re a new user or an existing Foxtel Now subscriber!
| Pack / Channel / Bundle | Cost / Month | Channel Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $35 | Showcase, FOX8, Comedy, Arena, TLC, LifeStyle, BBC UKTV, Universal, Foxtel One, British, MainEvent UFC, Sky News, CNN |
| Sports + Movies | $84 | FOX Sports, FOX League, FOX Footy, FOX Cricket, Movies Premiere, Movies Greats, Movies Action, Movies Family |
| Ultimate | $104 | All channels from Starter, Sports, Movies + Discovery, Real Crime, Real History, Boomerang, Cartoon Network |
How Does Fetch TV’s Lineup Compare?
Fetch has four Premium Channel Packs available, including Variety, Knowledge, Kids, and Vibe. Normally $6/month each, if you want the lot, you can bundle them for $20/month with no lock-in contract. The Special Interest Packs include beIN SPORTS 1 for $19.99/month and Horse and Country for $9.99/month, as well as the Optus Sport channel for $14.99/month.
And for international viewing, Fetch TV has you covered, with the Taj Mahal Pack for $15/month, the TVB Cantonese & Korean Pack for $15/month, the Chinese Pack for $9.95/month, the Pinoy Pack for $19.95/month, and the Italian Pack for $15/month. Need more? You can rent and watch over 8000 movies and TV shows
What About Sport?
If sport is an important part of your life, Foxtel Now offers substantially more content thanks to their range of Fox Sports channels as well as dedicated channels Fox Footy, Fox League and Fox Cricket. Fetch TV offers the same beIN channels that Foxtel Now does — but you have to subscribe to them as a separate pack. Exclusive to Fetch TV is Optus Sport, available only to direct Fetch retail customers and those who get their Fetch box through an Optus plan; it features extensive coverage of English Premier League soccer year-round.
Setting It Up
Once you have a broadband connection, getting started with Foxtel Now takes just a few minutes. Just sign up online, download and install the Foxtel Now app on your device or open it in your Google Chrome browser, and then login. Now you can start watching your favourite shows!
Foxtel Now is available on PC/Mac via the Google Chrome browser, on Foxtel Now’s own dedicated streaming box, Telstra TV, iOS and Android mobiles and tablets, Playstation 4, and Chromecast, as well as recent-model smart TVs from Sony, LG and Samsung. Meanwhile, the old Foxtel Play app is still compatible with a wide range of internet enabled devices including Smart TVs, Playstation 3, and Xbox One, and older smart TVs. So if Foxtel Now hasn’t arrived on your device yet, you can use the previous version of the app.
Fetch TV installation can be done in a couple of ways. You can sign up with one of their providers and install the Fetch set-top box yourself. Or if you already have an internet provider, you can purchase a Fetch Mighty via their retail partner stores. Setup is really easy. You can purchase Premium Channel Packs from Fetch — they’re each priced at $6/month, which you can pick and choose from based on your interests — or you can get them all for $20/month. Fetch also offers Special Interest Packs which are a bit pricier.
A great advantage of Fetch is the ability to pause, rewind, and record live TV. You can also watch while on the go — as a customer, subscribers can use the Fetch TV app to watch their favourite shows on their Android or iOS mobile devices.
How to Access Foxtel Now and Fetch TV
Foxtel Now lets viewers stream live TV, pause and rewind live TV, watch catch-up TV and set parental controls. There are also many titles available on demand. Rewinding capacity depends on the device on which you’re running the Foxtel Now app.
The Fetch TV Mighty set-top box comes with a full EPG guide, PVR (record up to six programs while watching a seventh, store up to 585 hours of entertainment), and over 8,000 movies and TV series available to rent on demand. Fetch also lets you pick from more than 30 channels on a monthly basis, and has a mobile app that lets you watch on the go — and even lets you direct your Mighty set-top box to record what you want right from your mobile device. All five Free-to-air catch-up services (NOW, PLUS7, SBS On Demand, ABC iView, and TENplay), as well as the Stan, Netflix, Prime Video, 10 All Access, and hayu apps are built right in. Oh, and don’t forget YouTube.
Availability
Foxtel Now is available throughout Australia — if you have a broadband connection then you can be up and running in minutes. How you obtain Fetch will affect how long it takes until you’re up and running. If you’ve purchased a Fetch box from a retailer, then you could be up and running the same day. If you get Fetch through an internet provider, then it’s dependent on their customer service turnaround times.
The Verdict —Which Is Best for You?
If you’re the kind of person who likes catch-up TV, movies on demand, and wants the ability to pick and choose between packs as your viewing tastes change, then Fetch TV is the better choice for you. You can buy the Mighty set-top box for $449 (RRP) and with just a $1 activation fee, you’re away! You can complement this with a Mini set-top box for $169 (the Mini 4K version is available for $199 but through selected retailers only), or you can bundle these units with a range of broadband deals from Aussie Broadband, Optus, iiNet, Dodo, or iPrimus.
For those who like to watch the latest and most popular global shows, as well as Australian and international sports live, Foxtel Now is the way to go, with a much wider range of content, including the latest HBO shows and a huge range of sports streamed live. What also works in Foxtel’s favour is that there’s no restriction on which internet service provider you use.
To see the latest offers, check out our streaming TV comparison table.
