Stan Sport is selling itself to viewers as the only place to watch every Olympics event from Paris 2024 ad-free. Its other promises to subscribers include that Paris 2024 will be live and on-demand with the biggest moments in 4K Ultra HD from today, 26 July.
Australia doesn’t have a successful record when it comes to putting the Olympic Games behind a paywall. The last time Nine had the Olympic Games – London 2012 – it shared coverage with Foxtel, which showed their coverage to subscribers. Foxtel hasn’t bid for Olympic rights since then.
In 2016, Seven put some of its Rio Olympic Games coverage behind a paywall on 7Plus via an Olympics on 7 app. The streaming platform has been free ever since and Seven retired from Olympics coverage after Tokyo 2020.
Alicia Lucas, Michael Atkinson, Tara Rushton, Stan CEO Martin Kugeler, Elise Kellond-Knight, Shane Heal
Top: Grant Hackett, Nova Peris, Tara Rushton, Michael Atkinson, Adam Peacock, Ash Barty, Chris Stubbs, Stephanie Rice
How much does it cost to watch streaming Olympics?
Seven charged $19.95 for the “premium” Olympic experience in 2016. One of its problems might have been it also offered a free version that included 900 hours of live coverage across Seven, 7TWO, and 7mate.
Stan Sport is promising to complement the 9Network’s Olympics offering across free-to-air assets and 9Now.
A Stan Sport add-on is $15 monthly. Viewers also need a Stan subscription which starts at $12 monthly for the basic plan through to $16 for HD and multi-screens and $21 for 4K.
Stan is marketing its Paris 2024 features as follows:
• An unrivalled and uninterrupted viewing experience showcasing all 329 events from Paris 2024 live and ad-free
• The most comprehensive on demand offering including full replays, highlights and exclusive minis
• The biggest moments showcased in 4K Ultra HD, a first for Olympics coverage in Australia
• The largest range of channels: all events across 40 individual sport channels, an exclusive 24/7 Olympic News channel and 4 live and exclusive feature channels crossing between the big moments
• A world-first offering of eight exclusive international / multi-language channels including coverage from the UK, Spain, France, India and New Zealand. But what is missing? Viewers get eight different channels… but there is no Australian feed. If you want Australian commentary during an event, you need to exit Stan and head to Nine or 9Now.
• Two exclusive daily shows – Olympics Daily and Paris Preview hosted by Tara Rushton and Adam Peacock joined by a lineup of Olympic experts including Ash Barty, Grant Hackett, Nova Peris, Stephanie Rice and John Steffensen. These experts won’t be commentating during live events though.
• Upgraded Stan Sport interface with enhanced features to deliver the “ultimate” Paris 2024 viewing experience
Stan’s complete team for Paris 2024 Olympics: (L to R) Craig Foster, Morgan Turinui, Nick Green, Jamie Dwyer, Nova Peris, Elise Kellond-Knight, Michael Hooper, Chris Stubbs, Grant Hackett, Tara Rushton, Adam Peacock, Ash Barty, Stephanie Rice, Michael Atkinson, Mark Bosnich, Alicia Lucas, John Steffensen, Stuart O’Grady, Shane Heal
The eight international / multi-language live channels will be available exclusively throughout Paris 2024. These feeds will come from host broadcasters in the UK, Spain, France, Germany, Greece and Italy (Eurosport), India (Viacom 18) and New Zealand (Sky New Zealand).
As mentioned above, if Stan Sport viewers want Australian commentators, they will be out of luck. To hear that, subscribers will have to exit Stan Sport and go to Nine or 9Now. The international commentators tell it like it is too. After Germany had slotted in its second goal during the Matildas v Germany game, they noted “Australia was in disarray”.
Stan chief executive officer Martin Kugeler said: “2024 is set to become the biggest year of Sport for Stan and we are delighted to deliver the most comprehensive, innovative and uninterrupted, ad-free viewing experience for the Olympic Games in Australian history, and 4K for the first time ever in Australia.”
| See also: 9Now refreshes platform for Paris 2024 Olympic coverage |
The programs Olympics Daily and Paris Preview are promising exclusive morning review and evening preview shows bookending each day. They will be airing at 7am and 2pm AEST throughout all 16 days of competition.
Hosts are Tara Rushton, who worked on coverage of Rio 2016, and Adam Peacock, who will be covering his fourth Olympic Games. An accomplished lineup of Olympic champions across a range of sports will also join the show as experts to provide analysis and opinion. Three-time Grand Slam winner, former tennis World No. 1, and Tokyo 2020 Bronze medallist Ash Barty will, for the first time since retiring in early 2022, provide Australian audiences unique insights into the tennis competition.
The daily shows will also feature swimming legend and four-time Gold medallist Grant Hackett, three-time Gold medal winner Stephanie Rice, and Olympic, World, and Commonwealth medalist John Steffensen. Michael Atkinson and Chris Stubbs will be based on the ground in Paris throughout the Games providing regular updates with exclusive access and interviews.
Stan Sport’s Olympics Daily and Paris Preview experts
Stan platform upgrade and innovation |
Subscribers are being promised a premium, elevated and distinct viewing experience, with Stan Sport’s user interface enhanced for Paris 2024 to help navigate thousands of hours of live and on-demand action.
Discovery and search have been upgraded on the Stan Sport platform.
New features include a built-in schedule plus dedicated and curated feeds including Gold Medal Moments, Aussies in Action, and Daily Top 10.
Stan Sport subscribers will also have 5.1 surround sound and an enhanced in-player viewing experience. Improved live switching functionality across TVs, set-top boxes, and for the first time, mobile and web, should offer easier navigation between live Olympic sports.