Scores, news, ladders and highlights are free and excellent: the league HQs (afl.com.au, nrl.com, cricket.com.au) publish their own coverage, and Fox Sports and Wide World of Sports compete hard on free sports news. Live games split two ways — selected matches stream free on the free-to-air apps (7plus, 9Now) under current broadcast deals, while complete every-game coverage is Kayo’s subscription pitch.
Key takeaways
- League sites are the authoritative free layer: fixtures, live scores, ladders, highlights, team news.
- Free-to-air streamers carry selected live sport free — check 7plus and 9Now before paying for a match they’re showing.
- Kayo makes sense for multi-code households and every-game fans; subscribe for your season, pause off-season.
- Buy tickets from league/federation sites — resale platforms are where the markup and the fakes live.
Free covers more than you think
The league HQs are no longer just fixture lists: afl.com.au, nrl.com and cricket.com.au run proper newsrooms with live scores, video highlights, injury and team news straight from the source. Around them, Fox Sports’ site and Nine’s Wide World of Sports fight for the free sports-news reader, and The Roar adds the fan-written argument layer — analysis, hot takes and comment threads that are half the fun.
Live sport’s free tier flows through the free-to-air apps: under current rights deals, Seven’s 7plus streams its AFL and cricket broadcasts and Nine’s 9Now its NRL coverage — selected matches, not all of them, and rights shuffle between seasons, so check the app before you assume either way.
When streaming earns it
Kayo exists for the gap: every game, every round, across AFL, NRL, cricket, motorsport and more, live and on demand with multi-view and minis. If your household follows two codes or you need the games free-to-air doesn’t carry, it’s the answer — at a subscription price that deserves the honest "how much will we actually watch?" conversation.
The optimisation everyone forgets: sport is seasonal, and streaming is monthly. Subscribe when your season starts, pause when it ends. Kayo and its peers are no-lock-in precisely so you can — footy winter and cricket summer don’t have to overlap on the bill.
Beyond the scores
Tickets belong to the source: league and federation sites (footballaustralia.com.au, tennis.com.au for the AO) link official ticketing, which is where fair prices and real seats live; resale platforms are where markups and disappointments do. ESPN Australia covers the US-sports parallel universe — NBA, NFL and college sport with local editorial.
The full field — who’s free, who needs an account, who’s behind each — is compared on our Sport top 10.
See the rankings: the full Sport top 10 — every site above, ranked and compared side-by-side on cost, accounts, apps and ownership.
Frequently asked questions
Can I watch AFL or NRL free online?
Is Kayo worth it?
Where should I buy tickets to the footy or the tennis?
Published 12 June 2026. General information reflecting public details at the time of writing — pricing, fees, rights deals and features change. aus.directory has no commercial relationship with any site mentioned; nothing here is financial or professional advice. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.