Participant Summary 2/8/19 - Kayo vs Watch AFL: little differences matter

The 1-month subscription with Watch AFL is coming to an end, and so here are the comparisons against Kayo as the preferred service:

• Little things make the ultimate difference. For instance, while Watch AFL may be stable and suffer from less drop-outs, it lacks in other key areas. For example, the maximum resolution is 720p, while Kayo is 1080p. This makes a big difference in the quality of the picture.
• On Watch AFL, the ball flickers while in flight, whereas on Kayo the ball flight tracks smoothly. The flickering is annoying after a while.
• Every step to setup the steam is a disincentive to use it. For example, Watch AFL requires using a VPN, which is an extra step. Kayo does not.
• Also, Watch AFL will only work on a tablet depending on the VPN software on the tablet, and it only chromecasts to 3rd gen devices or later, which mine is not. Kayo does allow chromecasting to 1st gen devices, but it's not great. However, this is still one less step than Watch AFL, and very similar to the old Foxtel Now set up I had, so familiar and relatively straightforward.
• Via the product page, the chromecast can also not be used for downloaded content, and the product does not support HDMI output.
• Obvisoulsy Kayo has more content, and for less money. Kayo has all the other sport content, for $25 a month, while Watch AFL is exclusively AFL (basically it's the Fox Footy Channels) for $33 a month, plus the cost of the VPN, which is about $60 a year.
• Kayo has other features that benefit it. Both platforms allow the user to hide scores of active games (i.e., no spoilers) but only Kayo has multi-screen views and the timeline highlights. I wouldn't have thought so, but these functions are great on Friday and Saturday night when there is a lot of sport on.
• In Watch AFL's favour, there are no ad-breaks during play, even when it is a Channel 7 game. Kayo carries Channel 7 ads on the games produced by Channel 7.
• Similarly, Watch AFL will include the score-bug in the bottom right hand corner of the screen for other games that are going on, even for Channel 7 games. Kayo only has this feature for the games it is producing.

However, the experiment was worthwhile for several reasons.

Firstly, it proves that AFL geo-blocks can be defeated by a VPN. It's relatively easy. It's relatively affordable.

It also demonstrates how far Foxtel has come in recent years to develop products for OTT audiences, and it demonstrates how far pricing has come down over that same time.

It also demonstrates what areas these products need to work on. Instability is a big issue for Kayo. Fidelity is an issue for the Watch AFL app.

I believe the Watch AFL app could also be more affordable, with introductory trial periods, or a half-year subscription - I have no idea why they got rid of this, although I believe it may have something to do with the fact that this was not an auto-renewing subscription. 

Ultimately, the AFL and Kayo may want to look at improving their product so it can't be beaten by a VPN, although I imagine Foxtel don't care too much about this, because it means people are probably paying more for it than Kayo, although I would also think the AFL gets some cut of the subscriptions.

Conversely, the AFL may need to look at how this product is being used to avoid other paid portals, and possibly eroding the value of their other rights.

Overall an interesting period, but I definitely found myself thinking of using Kayo first when it came to watching games of AFL.