Free To Air TV App Review: Channel 7, 9, 10, ABC and SBS

Review was updated on 2nd February 2022

Are you a long-time fan of everything Australia’s free to air networks have to offer? Then you know the simple pleasure of getting home from work, kicking back on the couch and flicking through channels to see what’s on. And these days, thanks to streaming, there’s a quick and easy way to catch up with your favourite shows. Here’s everything you need to know.

Free to Air Streaming Apps Review

While the TV landscape is almost unrecognisable from a decade ago, there’s still just the five big networks:

• Channel 7
• Channel 9
• Channel 10
• SBS
• ABC

Three commercial and two government-funded. But thanks to the opportunity for multiple channels that digital TV brought, a session of channel-surfing these days will have you travelling through a whole bunch of new offerings. That can make it a little daunting to try to keep up with what’s on. You’re watching the semi-final of MasterChef but flick over during an ad break to find one of the new extra channels is running The Big Bang Theory marathon or the latest episode of Hard Quiz. There are so many options it’s impossible to watch them all at once.

That’s where “catch-up” streaming comes into the picture. All five networks have their own catch-up services, which most people access via apps for their TV, streaming device, smartphone or tablet, or directly via the networks’ websites.

But how many programs can you really watch with catch up? Is everything available, or just certain programs? How long are shows available for? Which devices can I watch on? And which apps come out on top? We’ve had a deep dive into the top five best free-to-air streaming apps to give you the answers to all your questions.

Free to Air TV Streaming Apps

Lately, we’re seeing free-to-air networks use their streaming services for more than just mere “catch-up.” There’s first-run shows available on some of them, and libraries of stuff that you can’t access anywhere else, along with behind-the-scenes mini-documentaries about your favourite shows and stars, interviews and more.

And the cost? Absolutely free across the board. You’ll have to watch some ads during the shows on most of the services – that’s what helps pay for running them. But other than that, you can grab apps for all five networks, lie back on a comfy pillow in bed with your phone or tablet and binge on TV without ever having to turn the actual television on. Thanks, technology! Also, you can check what’s on free to air using this handy free to air TV guide.

Let’s take a quick tour of the five networks’ streaming apps. We’re looking at all of these on iOS, but they’re available for Android as well; also for platforms like Apple TV, Xbox One, Playstation 4, numerous brands of smart TV, and many more. They’re all also accessible via a web browser on any PC whenever you like.

Seven – 7Plus Review

Channel 7’s app – now renamed 7Plus instead of Plus7, just to confuse everyone – is one of the veterans of free-to-air streaming, and the developers have refined it into a slick, sleek offering that covers the full range of the network’s channels and programming. It even brings viewers live streaming from their specialised horse racing channel, Racing.com. Covering 7two, 7mate and 7flix alongside the main channel and a remarkable 10 specialist channels, the app can stream any of the channels live any time you like. However, you’re always going to have to watch an ad or two before the live stream starts. That can be amusing when you come out of your mandatory ads to find yourself in a live ad break! Check out this Channel 7 TV guide for a full schedule of shows.

On-demand streaming is nicely organised, with all shows accessible via category, date or alphabetically. Most of what’s on offer is catch-up content, with the time limit ranging from a few weeks up to a year or more before expiry. It’s perfect for catching up with episodes you’ve missed while away, but not necessarily entire seasons. There are exceptions, though – like the library of All Saints episodes, all 12 seasons of them. You can even check to see if you’re a millionaire with the Powerball live draw every Thursday.

Nine – 9Now Review

The Nine Network, commonly known as Channel 9, was fairly late to the party with its fully-fledged streaming app, but they’ve made up for it in terms of features and quality. There’s only one minor drawback – to watch anything at all you have to create a free account. In the earlier days of the app this became a bit of a pain as it constantly forgot the fact you were logged in, but this seems to have been fixed now.

Once signed in you can live-stream any of Nine’s channels – Nine, Gem, Go, Rush and Life. The streaming quality is brilliant, easily the best out of all five networks. If you’re a fan of Nine’s extra channels and have a reasonably fast broadband connection, you’ll find the picture quality of the extra channels is superior to the broadcast version. In the world of streaming, everything can be HD if it needs to be!

There’s the full range of shows to browse through, mostly as catch-up and some with app-exclusive extras. And since you have to be signed in to an account, you can freely add stuff to your list to watch later or even get notifications about new episodes. For the complete content listing, here’s our Channel 9 TV guide.

The app also supports Google’s Chromecast (and Chromecast-enabled TVs). You can stream the high-quality video this service offers directly to a screen that can show it off properly. If you’re a fan of series airing on Nine’s extra channels, we’d recommend you give this app a try as an alternative way of watching; with higher quality than what you’d get on regular TV.

Ten – Tenplay Review

Ten’s veteran streaming app Tenplay is one of the longest-serving of them all. And while it’s never been all that great in terms of picture quality, the organisation of the service and apps has come a long way. Currently, you’re getting a lean, fast app that lets you find the show you want to watch seamlessly. And if you’re a fan of Channel 10’s flagship show Masterchef, there’s all twelve full seasons here to view completely free any time you like – 796 episodes, to be precise – plus 922 extras!

It’s pretty straightforward stuff all round, with the list of available shows noticeably shorter than the rival networks. However, it includes almost everything the network offers. Check out Channel 10’s TV guide here.

All in all, the app is snappy and well made. The versions of the app for streaming devices such as Apple TV recently got a complete overhaul, too, and now sport a brilliant, very well laid-out user interface that makes it easy to find and watch the shows you want.

ABC – ABC iView Review

There’s no requirement for a user account to use ABC iView – but with the apps now supporting the same account as the web site version, it’s worthwhile to use one to keep track of your favourite shows and where you’re up to. That means you can download the app, add a bunch of shows to your personal watch list, and there they’ll stay – seemingly forever, unless you choose to remove them. We’ve got shows on the iOS iView app here that have remained on the watch list for many years. You know when you fire up the app that the latest episodes of the shows you want to see right now are going to be right there for you without hassle.

The apps are also blazingly fast. On a modern smartphone or tablet, that’s a given with all the free-to-air streaming apps, but iView is a cut above. Running it on an ancient iPad 2, it’s just as fast and responsive as it is on this year’s smartphones. The ABC’s app developers know their stuff well. And even as they add features the app never, ever gets bogged down.

The biggest complaint people have had with iView is the picture quality. For many years it was below standard definition, largely to try to keep costs under control. Lately, though, they’ve moved to using 720p high definition on most current shows and on most devices. Chromecast is supported.

If you watch the ABC’s broadcasts you know they push iView pretty heavily, and there’s a lot of content available to stream. This includes complete seasons of shows before they even air on the network, exclusive to the app. It’s a must-have freebie that any fan of Australian television can’t be without. For the full listing of every ABC TV show airing daily, check out this ABC TV guide.

SBS – SBS On Demand Review

Taking in content from their main channel along with sub-channels Viceland, World Movies, SBS Food and NITV, SBS’s excellent On Demand service has been growing strong in recent years. The video quality of its streams is getting progressively better – it’s now usually in 720p HD. Plus, the app is unique in its emphasis on a library of content, especially movies. There are hundreds of films available to stream for free on the service. And if you’re interested in the less mainstream side of cinema, there’s so much to watch you’ll be occupied for months.

While it’s government-funded, SBS supplements its income with ads on its broadcast channels, and the same is true of the streaming service. Ads will be inserted into the program or movie you’re watching. They’re not too obnoxious, though they sometimes pop up mid-sentence in movies when the automation gets it wrong.

The sheer size of the catalogue of free stuff to watch here is incredible, though – free TV seasons and all. Furthermore, the mobile apps support Chromecast if you want to throw your latest find onto the big screen. As slick and content-rich as a paid streaming service, SBS On Demand’s only price to pay is the occasional interruption for ads. It still seems too good to be true! You can find what shows and movies are airing on SBS today with our SBS TV guide.

SBS has had great success with the launch of SBS World Movies, a free-to-air channel dedicated to international cinema (very similar to the one that used to be on Foxtel). The movies, from European features to Bollywood charmers, are in HD, making World Movies SBS’ third HD channel. With the addition of World Movies into SBS’ free-to-air channels, the movie lover in you has something to be gleeful about in SBS On Demand, as most of these movies are available to stream any time, including critically acclaimed movies from France, Norway, Belgium, China, India, and many more.

Last audited 1 September 2024

Summary: Keep on Streaming!

It’s taken a few years for the free-to-air networks to properly get their streaming apps up to par – well, except the ABC’s iView, which has been stellar from day one. But if you grab the five networks’ apps now (or visit their websites) you’ll find a huge amount of completely free streaming shows and movies that will give you many months of entertainment without paying a cent.

Unlike other countries, where even the free-to-air networks want some kind of payment for their online streaming, Australia’s got it good. In fact, your smartphone’s probably a better, more versatile TV than your actual television!

Frequently Asked Questions about Streaming TV