Foxtel's Kayo Sports is set to increase its subscription costs, just two months after introducing a paywall for Saturday AFL games. This follows Foxtel's move, under its new ownership by DAZN, to make its streaming platform, Kayo, the primary destination for Saturday AFL coverage, leaving many fans surprised to find movie reruns on free-to-air broadcaster Network Seven instead of football.

The decision to place Saturday AFL games behind a paywall has sparked controversy, especially in Victoria, where fans have no free-to-air option. While all games are available on Foxtel, there was an initial expectation among fans that at least one game would be available each day across the weekend. In Foxtel’s final reported figures before being sold by News Corp and Telstra, it reported 1.5 million paying subscribers for Kayo in September last year.

Kayo's "basic" tier was renamed "Kayo Premium" in March, with its price increasing to $40 a month (from $35). Meanwhile, subscribers on the standard tier will see their monthly fee rise to $30 from June 3, up from $25. This price hike coincides with the first year of a $4.5 billion contract between the AFL, Foxtel, and Seven, running until 2031, with Foxtel contributing approximately $418 million annually.

Foxtel aims to offset the costs of its sports contracts through subscription revenue, leading to the decision to exclusively broadcast AFL games on Saturdays via Kayo. Initially, this "Super Saturday" coverage was national for the first eight rounds. Now, viewers in Western Australia and South Australia can access Saturday AFL games on Network Seven, while New South Wales and Queensland, predominantly NRL states, will have free-to-air coverage starting this week. However, Victorian fans remain locked behind the paywall.

A Kayo spokesperson stated that this is the first price increase to its entry-level tier since 2018, citing rising sports content costs and the need for technology investments. The increase is $5 per month, bringing the entry-level price to $30.

Foxtel employs a similar model with the NRL, offering "Super Saturday" coverage while Nine Network broadcasts games on Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays. As the NRL prepares to market its broadcast rights from 2028 onwards, Foxtel faces the prospect of increased costs to maintain its rights package.