In March 2018 it was reported Foxtel were investigating an over-the-top sports streaming service to appeal to customers not willing to subscribe to traditional satellite or cable. At the time the service had reportedly been in development for more than nine months but was yet to be green lit. It was reported the new service would not use the Foxtel branding.[4] In August 2018 it was reported Foxtel had green lit this new sports streaming service, which was code namedProject Martian. It was predicted the service would launch in late 2018 coinciding with a cricket event following Foxtel's recent new six year broadcasting deal with Cricket Australia.[5][6]
In October 2018, it was reported the service was originally planned to launch in early November but was delayed until early December in order to conduct further testing to avoid technical issues similar to those experienced by Optus Sport for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.[7] On 5 November 2018 it was reported Foxtel were exploring including ESPN and beIN Sports in the service which was rumored to be called Kayo Sports.[8]
On 9 November 2018, it was announced that the new service would be called Kayo Sports and launched in beta that day. At launch, the service offered over 50 sports from Fox Sports, ESPN and beIN Sports networks live and on demand. Foxtel CEO Patrick Delany described the service as the "Netflix of sport".[9] Following a positive reception to the beta launch, Kayo Sports officially launched on 26 November 2018.[10][11]
In February 2021, Telstra, part owner of parent company Foxtel, replaced their Telstra Live Pass service in the National Rugby League and Australian Football League mobile apps, which offered streaming of games, with access to Kayo Sports.[13]
In May 2021, Kayo Sports exceeded 1 million total subscribers, with paying subscribers expected to reach that milestone imminently.[14]
In May 2023, it was announced that beIN Sports content would no longer be available on either Foxtel or Kayo Sports platforms from July 2023.[15]
In December 2024, it was revealed that News Corp Australia and Telstra, dual owners of Foxtel Group, had come to a financial agreement with British streaming and entertainment platform DAZN to sell Foxtel, including Kayo Sports and Binge. The agreement is expected to close in the second half of fiscal year 2025 and is reported to give both News Corp Australia and Telstra a small stake in the company.[16][17]
^The increase was attributed to the return of most major sports.[22]
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
Channels
The following channels are available on Kayo Sports:[27]
Kayo Sports offers a three tier subscription model, one, basic or premium, the difference being the number of simultaneous device streams. One for one, two for basic, three for premium.[29] Kayo Sports is available via web browser, mobile app (Android and iOS), and on selected smart televisions and media consoles.[30]
Kayo Freebies
In January 2021 Kayo Sports started offering free access to selected sports and programs under the banner Kayo Freebies as a way of increasing subscribers.[31] Sports included under the banner include: the Mount Panorama 500,[31] selected A-League games,[31] selected W-League games,[31] two Suncorp Super Netball games a round plus Australian Diamonds games,[32] and all sports supported under the Federal Government's Women's, Niche and Other Under-Represented Sports grants.[33]
^ abPash, Chris (10 May 2021). "Foxtel's pandemic resurgence pushes subscribers to record 3.5 million - AdNews". www.adnews.com.au. Retrieved 10 May 2021. In recent days, Kayo exceeded 1 million total subscribers, with paying subscribers expected to reach that milestone imminently. A strong summer of cricket and the start of the dominant winter sports saw Kayo generate more momentum.