Is Foxtel Now (Telstra bundle) worth it? What about tv news apps?

Anyone have experience on Foxtel Now bundled with Telstra FTTP?

A friend who has just moved to Oz is looking at NBN options. I have always been an iinet person. They are considering Telstra with the Foxtel Now bundle (good salesperson at Telstra).

They primarily want access to international news channels (CNN, BBC, etc), and the Telstra person has referred to the bundle as a much cheaper way to get Foxtel (no box, etc). My understanding has always been that you get basic access, and have to pay more for any good content??

They have a chrome cast, though I was also wondering if you can access these channels through apps on the tv?

If they’re doing it for news channels they’ll be sorely disappointed. Foxtel Now gives you Sky News channels and Fox News and that’s about it. There is no BBC News channel or CNN channel.

Foxtel Now does not integrate with the built in cable providers feature on the Apple TV, nor does it have a native Apple TV app.

You can Chromecast or AirPlay from the phone app to a TV though.

Keep in mind that Now has fewer channels than the satellite Foxtel offering. If they visit the Foxtel Now website they can view the packages and see exactly what’s on offer (it’s exactly the same as via Telstra).

I dare say they’re better off getting Fetch TV instead, which does offer a wide range of international news channels for a fraction of the price.

Very annoying that there is no Foxtel app on Apple TV, It might happen one day.

While I was out last night, I watched the last 10 overs of the cricket.

Fetch TV is definitely work a look.

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Agreed on Fetch, you can get BBC News, CNN, Al Jazeera and Bloomberg. However, you can get these on the AppleTV, BBC iPLayer isnt available to us anymore but Al Jazeera, CNN, bloomberg, WSJ, NBC, ABC and others are (on the Aus app store) Some have in app purchases but not all. I had been accessing the BBC via the lifetime Getflix sub which has now been savagely restricted, and that seems to be not working anymore (the app loads but content will not play), maybe I’ll try it with a different unblocker I have. Getflix is trying to get those of us who bought lifetime via stacksocial or similar, to move to their other subscription model which would probably allow BBC access.

There’s no way I would pay for Foxtel in any format or get Telstra so I could have it… Too expensive for my tastes.

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Doesn’t Telstra Foxtel now sub come with a rebranded Roku box to use instead of buying an Apple TV?
I mean it’s not as good, but you should factor that in as well.

Don’t think I would bother factoring it in. The ongoing cost of Telstra in order to get Foxtel Now is just a crazy idea, unless you really want Foxtel for somehting else. and even then, its cheaper to just get Foxtel now separately and stream it from your ipad. But just for news? Thats nuts.

[edit] news channels are crap. fox, fox and more fox

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I think you can apply that to any news program these days. Think about any coverage of a subject you know a fair bit about, and the item will be mostly wrong. Then realise is is probably true for everything you don’t know much about too. Fundamentally, journalism is a lowly career full of narcissists more interested in themselves than the story.
24 hour news services are the worst. The ABC 24 service is particularly lame, mostly repeats of ABC show that have been on other ABC channels earlier that week.

I’m not a fan of Murdoch so anything that smacks of him is out as far as I am concerned. and ABC24 is a brilliant channel for those who dont actually get to see all the other shows you refer to.

It works with DNS4Me so if you’re keen on BBC shows it might be worth switching

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I’ve just had a play on my Apple TV and this is what I’ve found:

  • France 24: Free live stream and catchup
  • Bloomberg: Free live stream and catchup
  • Al Jazeera: Free live stream and catchup
  • CNBC: Some free content but requires cable subscription login to unlock everything
  • CNN: Some free content but requires cable subscription login to unlock everything
  • BBC: Needs a smartDNS service but otherwise free live stream and catch up
  • Newsy: Free live stream and catchup

Australian FTA apps have live streams and catch up news. SBS also carries Vice News Tonight and it’s weekly current affairs show.

Mind you I use a smartDNS service which might allow me to see some of these, but even they are a pittance compared to Foxtel.

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Appreciate all the replies. Have passed this on.

Yeah, I changed the DNS in the appleTV to be DNS4me. I will switch it off in the Fetch, because I still want AU access as well as US, for Netflix.

Foxtel Now not being on Apple TV is the biggest reason I never use it. Even though I now have 24 months free, I will still probably not bother using it.

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I’m also on the free 24 month free Foxtel Now deal with Telstra after I switched from Optus Cable to Telstra Cable (no NBN for me until 2020 or so). Optus got totally unusable during peak so the extra $$ for Telstra are worth it.

We do have the Telstra Roku box thing but it’s rarely turned on, between Netflix and YouTube and the wider internet of stuff I there is very little we want from FTA or the Foxtel channels. That and the few times I have turned them on I’m blown away by how many ads are on this paid service. It’s total balls.

Long story short, it’s free otherwise I wouldn’t have it.

Pretty much

Biggest limitation for me on the Foxtel streaming is lack of record/on demand for sport. Only reason I have Foxtel is F1. If Foxtels steaming had re-streaming of live events after the fact I’d switch to it. I often plug my MacBook Pro into TV via HDMI when travelling to watch F1 live via streaming. Works fine as long as mirrored displays. :slight_smile: That said, I don’t know if it’s only the streaming which comes with the full Foxtel that lets you stream on Mac.

4k is now (limited) for sport and a (limited, dedicated) channel.

Bathurst was great and looking forward to the cricket in 4K.
I go with Telstra NBN and Foxtel, it’s possibly not the cheapest option, but it works and it’s stable.
Had the Roku box and hardly ever even turned it on, Apple TV covers it all.