The only Australian streaming platform dedicated to sports is set to change things up next year, with the Foxtel-owned Kayo Sports planning to introduce a new free subscription tier in 2021, according to CEO Patrick Delany.
A specific date when this “freemium” option will be available hasn’t yet been confirmed, but it will only include some on-demand games, clips and shows at launch.
The biggest drawcard for this free tier will be the availability of select live sports, starting off with the 2021 V8 Supercars season – the calendar for which is yet to be confirmed.
Delany says more sports will be available to watch live down the line, but only a few races or matches of each season will be available for free. All you will need to get streaming for free will be the app and to create a free account. Customers who have paused their Kayo subscription will also be able to access the free tier.
Kayo has a huge number of features that cater to the die hard sports fan – SplitView to stream several games at the same time, interactive stats, a match centre and multiple camera angles, to name a few. Whether these will be available on the “freemium” subscription tier is as yet unclear.
Kayo Sports currently has about 600,000 subscribers, and it’s hoping this strategy to pull in more sports fans will be a winning one, allowing prospective subscribers to sample the platform before giving them the option of paying for the full service.