How to Watch the AFL 2026 Season in Australia

The 2026 AFL season splits two ways in Australia. The free path is the Seven Network — Channel Seven on free-to-air TV plus its 7plus streaming app — which carries an average of at least three live matches every round, all of the Finals Series (Weeks 1 to 3), and, crucially, the AFL Grand Final exclusively free. The complete path is Foxtel (Fox Footy) or its Kayo Sports streaming service, which carry all nine premiership-season matches every round, live and ad-break free, plus the full Finals Series. The one thing the pay path does NOT have is the Grand Final — that is free-to-air-only on Seven. So every Australian can watch the biggest game of the year for nothing, while fans who want every game of every round need Foxtel or Kayo.

The Seven Network is the free-to-air home of the AFL in Australia, broadcasting on the main Channel Seven channel and live-streaming the same coverage free on its 7plus app. Across a typical round, Seven shows an average of at least three live matches free to air, and steps up its coverage through September: every match of the Finals Series across Weeks 1 to 3 is on Seven, and the AFL Grand Final is broadcast exclusively free on Seven — it is NOT on Foxtel or Kayo. That Grand Final exclusivity is the defining feature of the Australian AFL market. The single biggest match of the season, the one that stops the country on the last Saturday in September, is guaranteed free-to-air for every Australian viewer. 7plus carries the same live coverage as the Channel Seven broadcast, so cord-cutters watching on a smart TV, phone or browser get the free games and the free Grand Final without a TV aerial. This sits inside the 2025-2031 AFL rights cycle, so the free Seven/7plus path is locked in for years, not just this season. For a fan happy with three-plus games a round, the full finals and a free Grand Final, Seven and 7plus cover the 2026 season for nothing.

Foxtel — through its dedicated Fox Footy channel — carries all nine premiership-season matches every round, live and ad-break free during play, plus every match of the Finals Series across Weeks 1 to 3. This is the complete AFL package: where Seven shows a selection, Foxtel shows the lot. Fox Footy also runs the surrounding AFL programming — dedicated match-day shows, analysis and the off-season trade and draft coverage — through the season. Kayo Sports is the Foxtel-owned streaming service that mirrors that coverage without a Foxtel cable box: all nine matches a round live and ad-break free, plus the full Finals Series, streamed to smart TVs, phones, tablets, browsers and streaming sticks. Kayo is the natural pick for an AFL fan who wants every game but does not want a traditional Foxtel subscription, and its SplitView feature lets you watch multiple matches at once on the big concurrent-game rounds. The one gap on the pay path is the Grand Final: neither Foxtel nor Kayo carries it, because it is free-to-air-exclusive on Seven. Foxtel and Kayo subscribers simply switch to Seven or 7plus for Grand Final day. Everything else across the 2026 season — all nine games a round and the full finals build-up — is on Foxtel and Kayo. Check the Foxtel and Kayo sites for current subscription pricing, which changes between seasons and around promotions.

If you follow one or two clubs casually and care most about the finals and the Grand Final, the free Seven and 7plus path is genuinely enough: at least three live games a round, the full Finals Series and the Grand Final exclusively free. Many Australian AFL fans never pay a cent and still see the matches that matter most. If you want every game your club plays — including the away games and the early-season fixtures Seven does not pick up — you need Foxtel or Kayo, which carry all nine matches every round. Kayo is the cheaper, contract-free way into that full coverage for most cord-cutters; Foxtel suits households that want it bundled with cable channels. Check each provider's site for the current price before you sign up. The smart hybrid many Australian fans run: Kayo (or Foxtel) through the home-and-away season and finals for full coverage, and Seven/7plus for the Grand Final, which is free for everyone regardless. Because the Grand Final is FTA-exclusive, even a complete Kayo subscriber watches the season finale on free-to-air.

The AFL home-and-away season runs from March through August, with the Finals Series across September and the Grand Final on the last Saturday of September. Across a round, the nine matches are spread Thursday night through Sunday, with Friday-night and Saturday-afternoon marquee slots. Seven typically takes the Friday-night game, a Saturday game and a Sunday game free-to-air, while Foxtel and Kayo carry all nine. Matchcast lists every AFL fixture for the 2026 season with the Australian broadcaster for each match, so you can see at a glance whether a given game is on free-to-air Seven/7plus or whether you need Foxtel or Kayo. For the Grand Final, the answer is always the same: free on Seven and 7plus for every Australian viewer.