I have decided with not getting the National Broadband Network in Australia was not to subscribe to the Foxtel cable service by Foxtel & instead get Foxtel Now (formerly Foxtel Play) which uses an online connection to get a set of Foxtel channels. The main difference between Foxtel and Foxtel Now is the prices you pay & the number of channels you receive. The packages you get on Foxtel and Foxtel Now are completely different. With Foxtel, you need a set top box. I am currently using Foxtel Now through the Samsung smart Blu- Ray Player. No need for a professional installation. Can use Foxtel Now as well on the personal computer & get the Smart phone app if I want to. Foxtel Now for people who live in the United Kingdom & Ireland is Australia’s version of Now TV.
With Foxtel Now, there a few base packs to choose from:
- Pop pack
- Lifestyle pack
- Drama pack
- Docos pack
- Kids pack
You can use every pack on a one month trial before choosing to pay for any of the packs. You can either choose from one base pack or choose every base pack after the one month trial. For financial reasons, I have chosen the Pop pack because I like the programs more with this pack compared with the other starter packs. The Pop pack & Drama pack by themselves cost $A15 per month while the Kids pack, Docos pack & the Lifestyle pack costs $A10 per month. Not to forget the Pop pack & the Drama pack combined costs $A25 per month.
With the Pop pack, the channels you receive are:
In addition of the base pack(s), you can choose the next tier:
- Sports pack ($A29 per month)
- Movies pack ($A20 per month)
You can either choose wither the Sports pack or the Movies pack or both packs but must get the base pack(s) first. Included if you pick one of the packs as the minimum are the channels you receive in addition:
- Fox Sports News
- Sky News Live
- Sky News Business
- Sky News Weather
- Sky News Extra
- Sky News UK
- Fox News Channel
- TVSN
- [V] Hits
The main positive with Foxtel Now is the opportunity to watch channels like Showcase & The Comedy Channel through a pack worth $A15 per month. With Foxtel, to get those very channels would cost a lot more money in a month. The main drawback is I feel is the cutting the number of channels that were available from Foxtel Now earlier this year. For more information, go to the Foxtel Now website.
NOTE: This information is only related to the Australian market. This is an independent review & I have no relationship with Foxtel as an employee or contractor. This post has all the information updated as at May 28 in 2018 from the original post from December 20 in 2017.
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