How to Watch the AFL and NRL in 2026

By AurexTV Support · Published October 15, 2026

Australian football season is two seasons at once. From the first bounce and the first set of six in March through to the grand finals in spring, the AFL and the NRL run side by side, often on the same weekend, sometimes in the same window. Following both the traditional way can mean more than one subscription and a lot of switching. This guide explains how fans in Australia, and Australians living in the US, UK or Canada, follow both codes through AurexTV on a single login.

Why are the AFL and NRL awkward to follow the usual way?

The two codes pull in different directions. The AFL is the winter religion of Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania; the NRL rules New South Wales and Queensland. Plenty of fans follow both, plus the State of Origin series that stops the country, and a lot of that coverage is split between free-to-air and premium broadcasters. A weekend round can have matches across Friday night, Saturday afternoon, Saturday night and Sunday, and no single traditional channel carries all of them.

On top of that, a large Australian diaspora wants to keep watching from overseas, where the home broadcasters simply are not available. An Australian in Toronto or London has, in the past, had almost no straightforward way to catch a Thursday-night AFL game at a sensible hour. IPTV changes the shape of that problem, because the channels arrive over the internet rather than a local aerial.

How does AurexTV cover both codes?

AurexTV gathers the Australian channels that traditionally carry the AFL and the NRL into one guide, with a full electronic programme guide and catch-up, so you do not switch between separate services to follow a round. You can see the broad line-up on the channels page and the live schedule in the dedicated sports section.

Streams run in true 4K, FHD and HD on a network built for 99.9% uptime, which matters for football: a close final quarter or a golden-point finish is exactly when you do not want a buffering wheel. Everything sits in one app, so a fan who wants the AFL on Friday night and the NRL on Saturday is not juggling logins. Because this is an Australian-sport lane that many English-market services skip entirely, AurexTV is a natural home for fans who also want the Ashes and the cricket on the same plan.

Which matches and competitions are covered?

AurexTV carries the channels that traditionally broadcast both codes, so in one guide you can follow the shape of the whole season.

• The AFL home-and-away season – Friday-night, Saturday and Sunday rounds through the winter.
• The AFL finals series and the Grand Final – the September run to the premiership.
• The NRL premiership rounds – the weekly fixtures across the regular season.
• The NRL finals and the Grand Final – the finals series into October.
• State of Origin – the three-match series that brings the country to a halt.
• AFLW and NRLW – the women’s competitions where they are televised.

Broadcast rights move between seasons, so the dependable way to confirm a particular match or channel is to load the free trial during a round and check the guide yourself. We never promise a specific fixture in advance; we point you at the channels that traditionally show it.

AFL or NRL: which is easier to follow on IPTV?

The honest verdict is that both are equally well served, because the advantage of IPTV is breadth rather than favouring one code. Where it genuinely helps is the overlap weekends, when AFL and NRL fixtures stack on top of each other. Here is how the two compare for a viewer planning a weekend.

For a fan who follows only one code, IPTV is simply a cheaper, more flexible way in. For a fan who follows both, it is the difference between one app and two subscriptions.

What do you need to watch?

The hardware bar is low. Most homes already own something that works: an Amazon Fire TV Stick, a Samsung or LG Smart TV, an Android TV box, an Apple TV, or a phone or tablet. AurexTV supports popular players including IPTV Smarters Pro and TiviMate.

A note on newer hardware: the Fire TV Stick 4K Select runs Amazon’s Vega OS, which does not allow sideloading, so third-party players cannot be installed on it the way they can on older Fire OS sticks. If you are buying a device just for the football, a Fire OS Firestick or an Android TV box gives you more freedom. On Samsung and LG sets, the Smart IPTV app needs Tizen 6.5 or newer, or webOS 3.0 or newer. For a clean 4K picture, around 25 Mbps is comfortable; FHD and HD ask far less, so a modest connection or mobile data copes well.

How do you set it up before the first bounce?

Getting from sign-up to a live match is quick, and you do not need to be technical. The order is always the same:

1. Start the free trial. Message us on WhatsApp for a 24-hour trial login and test it during a live round before paying anything.
2. Install a player. On a Fire OS Firestick, Android TV box, phone or tablet, install IPTV Smarters Pro or TiviMate. On a recent Samsung or LG set, use the Smart IPTV app.
3. Enter your login. Paste the details we send and the channel list and guide load automatically.
4. Open the sports category, find the AFL and NRL channels, and the current and upcoming matches appear in the guide.

Activation takes under 15 minutes, and the team is on WhatsApp if anything needs a hand. Most people are watching within that first quarter-hour.

Watching the AFL and NRL from overseas

This is where AurexTV earns its keep for the Australian diaspora. An Australian living in the US, UK or Canada has traditionally had little straightforward access to the home broadcasters. Because AurexTV delivers the channels over broadband and mobile data, the same login that works in Melbourne works in Manchester or Montreal. The time difference turns a weekend round into a breakfast or late-night watch, which many expats come to treat as part of the ritual. If that is you, the companion guides on IPTV for expats and movers and one subscription across the US, UK, Canada and Australia explain how the rest of your home viewing travels with you on the same plan.

Is it worth it for a two-code fan? The verdict

For anyone who follows both the AFL and the NRL, the verdict is clear. Stacking the traditional broadcasters that carry both codes across a full season costs several times more than a single IPTV plan, and still leaves you switching apps. AurexTV gathers the channels into one guide for $15 a month, or $69 for twelve months, which works out around $5.75 a month. Every plan includes the full 25,000+ channels and 120,000+ on-demand titles, so the football sits alongside everything else the household watches. The pricing page has the detail, and a free 24-hour trial lets you judge the streams during a live round before committing.

Want it ready before the next round? Message the AurexTV team on WhatsApp and we will set you up in minutes.

Planning a two-code weekend

The real test of a football setup is a busy weekend, and the Australian winter serves up plenty of them. A typical round can open with a Thursday or Friday night AFL game, roll into NRL fixtures across Friday and Saturday nights, and finish with Sunday afternoon football in both codes. Following that the traditional way means knowing which broadcaster has which match and switching between them; following it on AurexTV means opening the sports section once and letting the guide lay the weekend out in order. For a fan who genuinely watches both codes, that is the difference between a smooth Saturday on the sofa and a scramble through separate apps.

The on-demand side helps here too. Not every match can be watched live, especially when two codes overlap in the same window, and the 120,000+ library means there is always something for the gaps, whether that is a film for the non-football half of the household or a way to fill the stretch between the late game finishing and bed. Because live channels and on-demand titles live in the same app under one login, moving between them takes no effort, which is exactly what you want when a weekend is packed.

One plan for the whole sporting year

The AFL and NRL own the winter, but the Australian sporting calendar does not stop there, and neither should a subscription. When the football finals are done, the cricket summer begins, and the same households tend to follow both. A plan that only handled the winter codes would leave half the year uncovered. AurexTV carries the summer game in the same guide, so the login that gets you through the AFL and NRL seasons runs straight on into the Ashes and the cricket without any change on your part. That year-round continuity is a large part of the value for a sports-led household: one login, one bill, and live sport in the guide every month rather than a service you take out and cancel with the seasons.

It also suits the many fans who follow more than Australian sport, or who watch from abroad. Because AurexTV reaches across the US, UK, Canada and Australia, a viewer can keep the footy alongside, say, the Premier League or the NFL on a single plan, and the guide on one subscription for four countries explains how that fits together under one login.

Frequently asked questions

Can I watch both the AFL and the NRL on one plan?

Yes. AurexTV carries the Australian channels that traditionally broadcast both codes in a single guide, so you can follow AFL on one night and NRL the next without a second subscription. Because rights change between seasons, run the free trial during a round to confirm a specific channel.

Does it include State of Origin and the finals?

The same guide carries the channels that traditionally show State of Origin and both codes’ finals series, including the Grand Finals. Load the trial around those dates to check the schedule for yourself.

Can I watch from outside Australia?

Yes. Because the channels arrive over the internet rather than a local aerial, the same AurexTV login works whether you are in Australia, the US, the UK or Canada. The time difference simply shifts the matches into a different part of your day.

Will the stream hold up for a close finish?

That is what the network is built for. Streams run on infrastructure designed for 99.9% uptime in 4K, FHD and HD, so a tight final quarter or a golden-point finish holds its picture. Around 25 Mbps is comfortable for 4K, and far less for FHD or HD.

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