Best broadband for streaming and watching live sport

For many years, sports fans have had to rely on broadcast TV to deliver their competitive action of choice. But unfortunately this meant you watched sport when and how the stations told you to watch it.

The TV and movie industries were caught by surprise, turned upside down by the rapid rise of streaming. Now it’s sport’s turn to be caught out – all for the benefit of the viewer of course.

It’s not as though the idea is especially new, either – enthusiastic fans have been streaming sport in various ways for years now, whether it be watching AFL or NRL on a mobile phone or catching the latest Supercars action via free to air streaming provider 10play.

Even Amazon Prime Video got in on the act, regularly streaming American football and the occasional ATP tennis tournament in crisp high definition. Then comes Stan Sport, football on Paramount+, and even Apple TV+ – the list is just getting longer.

Sports streaming in Australia

What’s really shaken things up, though, is the arrival of Kayo Sports – Australia’s first dedicated sports streaming service, something sports-mad Aussies have been hanging out for since streaming video went mainstream. Kayo have the vast resources and exclusivity of Fox Sports, including beIN Sports and ESPN.

Kayo Sports is a one-stop streaming shop for every kind of sport under the sun, all available live, delayed or on demand. It’s incredibly well done and keenly priced at a modest $25 per month. Needless to say, it’s been an instant success.

Streaming sport isn’t quite the same as streaming movies and TV, though. While streaming giants Netflix, Stan and Amazon have to figure out the best way to stream high quality video and audio at up to 4K quality, streaming sport even at 1080p HD can be a far more demanding proposition.

Most TV and movie content on Netflix runs at 24 frames per second, but sport needs far more real-time accuracy than that. Increasingly, sport is captured by cameras at 50 or 60 frames per second, and that means extra data demands when streaming.

On top of that, sport is streamed either live or near-live – there’s no time to carefully optimise the stream to use as little data as possible like Netflix does. For the best possible picture quality, the streaming data rate needs to be as high as possible – and that means that for customers, a fast, reliable broadband connection is a must.

Kayo’s special features can also demand even more bandwidth – for example, the easy to use Split Screen mode (which is both great fun and surprisingly useful) can ramp up the data usage considerably.

Much of this also applies to streaming live sport on other platforms as well, of course – Foxtel Now for example, plays best with a fast broadband connection (though it doesn’t use as high a data rate as Kayo does). Fetch TV’s live sports channels need a reliable connection to stream smoothly – indeed, any live streaming is going to be potentially sent into the dreaded world of buffering if you don’t choose a broadband plan wisely.

So what are the key things to look for in a broadband bundle where your main goal is to stream sports?

Connection speed

It might sound like a no-brainer, but with live sport streaming, you don’t want to compromise on available download speed. It’s one thing to be able to stream Netflix flawlessly, but a much greater challenge to stream live sport in HD, and the speed of your connection is going to play a huge role in how smoothly that goes.

Fortunately, with the NBN rolling out to more and more homes, access to fast but well-priced plans is available across the various NBN technologies. A speed tier of 50/20 (50 Mbps down, 20 Mbps up) is perfect for live sport streaming. There’s bandwidth to spare for the video stream (or streams) and lots of upstream speed available so your device can keep in touch with the streaming server and let it know it’s getting the video just fine.

Don’t make the mistake of going for lower speeds to save money. Even 25/5 is potentially an exercise in frustration depending on the actual maximum speed of your connection and whatever else is flowing through it. 50/20 will cost you a little more, but it’s worth it for smooth streaming and a much better broadband experience overall.

Unlimited data

This one’s a must. Streaming video uses a fair bit of data anyway – around 3GB per hour in HD, but more for high-bitrate content like live sport. If you pick a plan with a monthly download limit, you’re going to chew through that really quickly if you’re sitting down to stream hours-long footy games or day-long cricket and golf contests.

While in the past, broadband plans with unlimited data meant you were likely to hit some nasty peak-hour congestion and buffering, changes from the NBN side have meant that most providers can now offer unlimited data plans without compromising quality even at evening peak times.

Bundled streaming device

It’s not essential – there’s a lot of great streaming devices to choose from, you probably already have one and your smart TV can do the job just fine in some cases. But the best thing about bundle deals is the useful stuff that often gets thrown in, and in some cases, that can mean a quality streaming device that’ll help get you up and running from the moment your broadband gets connected.

A reliable provider

It’s a bit harder to quantify, but you want a provider that is going to give you reliable streaming even under the most difficult conditions – namely, the weekday evening hours when everyone’s getting home and firing up their streaming devices. By law, NBN providers now have to state a typical evening speed that you’ll see on their plans – it’s not a guarantee, but it’s a good indication.

Higher is better, of course, and ideally you want that number to be as close to your actual plan speed as possible. That way you won’t be left hanging mid-way through a game with a “buffering” screen just because half the country is streaming the final season of Succession!

How to bundle your broadband with streaming TV

Since everything you stream on your TV or device relies on your broadband plan, it only makes sense to bundle these two services. Find out more about the best broadband for streaming TV right here.

Best sports streaming bundles

Thanks to the way the NBN has opened up the internet to dozens of new providers, there’s no shortage of choice when it comes to finding a broadband plan – and needless to say, it can be seriously confusing. We’ve taken a look at the top broadband streaming providers, and found plans that are ideally suited to streaming live sports, whether they be through Kayo, Foxtel or even your favourite code’s phone or tablet app.

Southern Phone NBN Fast

A unique provider that puts its profits back into regional communities, Southern Phone offers a keenly-priced NBN100 plan with unlimited data for a very appealing price of only $65 per month with no lock-in contract. This is an ongoing offer that will end on 1 November 2023. Moreover, this also gives you the freedom and bandwidth to stream sport as much as you like without the network slowing you down or limits cutting you off. However, they don’t currently offer any TV bundling except for the standard internet and home phone bundles.

Dodo NBN100 Unlimited Data

If you’re looking to get streaming affordably with great speeds to enjoy your favourite sports, Dodo NBN won’t disappoint. We recommend going for the unlimited plan on NBN100 speed tier for $85/month, which you can get for only $70/month for the first six months. There are no lock-in contracts so you can cancel anytime.

iPrimus Premium Plan

One of the most respected internet providers in the country, iPrimus delivers competitive options with cheap, flexible plans. Their network is fast, responsive and very well connected, ideal for streaming of all kinds. The fast Unlimited Premium plan offering average sampled evening speed of 100Mbps is excellent for streaming sports live and in HD for $95/month (now only $80/month). iPrimus also gives users the option to bundle their internet plans with Fetch TV for more sport options.

Moose NBN Family Plan

Moose recently ventured into broadband with these four Moose NBN plans: Starter NBN (12Mbps), Lite NBN (25Mbps), Everyday NBN (50Mbps), and Family NBN (100Mbps). With straightforward internet plans, it’s easy for seniors and pensioners to decide what plan is best for them. In this case, we suggest Moose’s fastest Family NBN with no lock-in contract for streaming sports. There’s also a Satisfaction Guarantee feature included. Simply return your modem within a 21-day period to get a full refund.

Telstra NBN with free streaming

Australia’s largest and most advanced broadband network, Telstra has been dropping some very keenly-priced bundles in recent times – and this one’s a cracker for the avid sports fan. You get free three months of BINGE, one month of free Foxtel Now, a home phone with unlimited calls within Australia, Telstra’s new Smart Modem Gen 2 with 4G backup.

The choice is yours

These are just some of the great bundles available in what is now a very competitive NBN market – and if you choose well, you’ll enjoy flawless live sports streaming with all the thrills and none of the hassles. Be sure to check out our bundle comparison to take a look at what else is on offer!