Telstra Removed AFL Live and Replaced with $5 KAYO for 12 Months - Data Usage Issues

John Dough on 15/03/2021 - 12:37
Last edited 15/03/2021 - 13:33

Hi All,

A family member used to have AFL Live pass on their pre paid telstra mobile.
That service has ended as we are all aware now. Kayo for $5 sounds like a good deal - most of us would jump at that and KAYO is great.
(EDIT: KAYO Data is metered, where AFL Live pass was not)

But……

At HD setting on a phone, KAYO uses around 6GB per hour! So a 2.5 hour footy game is >10GB - On a mobile phone!!
At SD setting it's about a quarter of that at around 1.5 GB per hour, or 4GB per game

No in between settings. HD is perfect quality, SD is pretty much unwatchable but I guess that's the only option to keep costs down at this point.

So for someone wanting to watch say 4 games per week, that's 160Gb per month!!

Not many data plans out there that support >160Gb per month without forking out some big dollars!

Has anyone else run into this issue? What are you doing to get around it? What's the most cost effective way to get around 160Gb a month?

(My family member travels around and is a grey nomad, so Telstra is pretty much the only option, and WIFI/NBN may not be an option (or could it?)

I would like to hear thoughts, and if anyone has any solutions that they are currently using…..

Thanks!

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Comments

  • Hybroid on 15/03/2021 - 12:40
    +1

    Connect to WiFi?

    • John Dough on 15/03/2021 - 13:22

      Yep, a good idea, but hard in remote campsites. I have tried to see if there are wifi hotspots around, and will continue to look.

  • Drakesy on 15/03/2021 - 12:43
    -2

    Should be in deals
    And clarification to $5 per month
    Just checked, it also seems boost mobile is eligible.

  • Quantumcat on 15/03/2021 - 12:44
    +1

    What about a telstra plan with peace of mind data. He'll get 1.5 Mbps for the rest of the month I believe after the data allowance has run out. Not fast enough to watch in SD so would have some buffering. If kayo has the ability to download them he could download the game and watch a little while later. Or start the game, leave it ages to buffer and eventually be able to go back to the beginning and watch the whole thing. Note I've never used Kayo so not sure if that is or isn't possible (maybe it is live or nothing)

    • John Dough on 15/03/2021 - 13:26

      Great ideas there, I will certainly look into this more and post back how it goes.

  • bongom on 15/03/2021 - 12:49
    -1

    Why can't they watch FTA TV?

    • dasher86 on 15/03/2021 - 12:52
      +2

      FTA does not have all games.

      • John Dough on 15/03/2021 - 13:27

        Yeah unfortunately especially in outback QLD, hard to even find one game, and carrying an aerial that can pick up FTA reliably is also hard in a caravan.

      • bongom on 15/03/2021 - 14:38
        +1

        4 games per week is what was requested.

  • sjj89 on 15/03/2021 - 13:10

    The AFL Live app used to not count towards your mobile data usage with Telstra when taking advantage of that previous deal. Is it not the same with this Kayo one?

    • John Dough on 15/03/2021 - 13:28
      +2

      Yes that's the catch right there, AFL live was unmetered, KAYO is certainly not, and I think Telstra should maybe have considered that as part of the transition!

  • nephilim on 15/03/2021 - 13:27

    Thank Liberal government for giving them the 10s of millions for ""female sport" to help launch Kayo Free.

  • ozwog05 on 15/03/2021 - 14:02
    +2

    Telstra really should have made (or should make) Kayo quota free (eg. If subscribed through Telstra account).

  • GG57 on 15/03/2021 - 14:20
    +1

    This will probably sound harsh, and get negged, but:

    OP's case seems to be one of those abnormal cases where a change in the product/service delivery has an adverse impact for this individual customer.
    For the vast majority of Telstra's customers (I am not one), this change would have had nil impact, or maybe a minor impact on how they access the service, or even a positive impact whereby Kayo provides other sports (not limited to AFL).

    Unfortunate outcome for this individual - certainly.
    But that is all.

    Apart from accessing wifi to view the games, or change to another mobile provider, not much can be done.
    This site: https://www.reviews.org/au/mobile/cheap-mobile-plans/ suggests that a felix $35 subscription is the best for an 'unlimited' data plan, but I can't provide any other info on that.

    • John Dough on 16/03/2021 - 08:47

      Fair enough, but the AFL Live pass worked on the mobile phone that was connected to the Telstra mobile network only, locked and you couldn't even access it via wifi if you wanted to, but it was unmetered.

      It (AFL Live pass) was all about the mobile access, so I think more people might be affected than you think.

      I guess they could have just done nothing, and this is a meet in the middle solution, but as I have always said, we are looking for the best way to deal with the now data hungry KAYO on a mobile phone.

      I'll check out unlimited mobile plans, hopefully there might be something unlimited on the Telstra network…..

      • GG57 on 16/03/2021 - 10:10

        If you go for a data-only plan, use it with a tablet. That would be a better viewing experience than on a phone.

  • singlemalt72 on 15/03/2021 - 14:25

    Any way to finagle this with a work mobile phone?
    I have a work supplied telstra phone managed by our corporation, I use it to get the annual free NRL pass but to get this deal it seems the number needs to be linked to your Telstra account, which I obviously cannot do. sadface

    • GG57 on 15/03/2021 - 15:00
      +1

      You want to give OP's family member your work phone?

  • kfcfatfat on 15/03/2021 - 21:40
    +1

    SD is pretty much unwatchable

    First world problem mate!

  • motion2082 on 16/03/2021 - 23:29
    +1

    Should be $5 for everyone

  • mr3oh7 on 23/03/2021 - 21:04

    Telstra air wifi is everywhere and probably free if they are on telstra.

  • treeman on 25/03/2021 - 14:13

    The data issue is disgraceful. When I was using AFL Live App and watched matches it didn't use too much data for a full game. I usually watched it on Wifi but there were times I watched with my data.
    I'll have to adjust it so it uses the bare minimum.

    I currently have the free month, but I also want to use up the $5 per month there afterwards does anyone know how I can successfully set this up?

    Thanks.

    • John Dough on 25/03/2021 - 22:37

      AFL Live only ever worked on the cellular network, and it was unmetered.

      KAYO is a data thirsty app indeed, HD is not really meant for mobile cellular use without wifi, unless you have a massive data plan. Good thing is that it works on any network I guess.
      SD is watchable, but it's still data hungry for a pretty ordinary looking picture.
      AFL Live was similar to the SD picture on KAYO but IMO not as clear.

      Here's the link you need;
      https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/601846

      • treeman on 06/04/2021 - 21:37

        That's not true I used it on wifi all the time.
        I also used it as part of my vaya plan as I got the live pass from the in laws.

  • whitelie on 25/03/2021 - 22:48
    +1

    Wait till the big 180gb plan goes on sale for $65 again?

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