Sport on smart TVs: what's on offer in Australia

Nothing beats watching sports on a big screen. Thanks to the new range of "smart TVs" hitting the market this year, there are now a lot more ways you can get your sporting fix delivered directly to your TV via your internet connection.

While the smart TV market is still in its infancy, there's actually a respectable focus on sporting content being made available through internet-enabled televisions. The problem is that every manufacturer has formed its own partnership deals with content providers, meaning that what sporting content you can access depends on what brand of TV you buy.

To demystify who's offering what, here's a full rundown of the sports available on this year's range of smart TVs:

Free (unmetered on BigPond); Samsung, LG (coming soon)

Part of the BigPond TV collection of channels, BigPond Sport TV is a 24-hour news service dedicated to balls, racquets, clubs, bats and any other equipment used by sporty types.

Free (unmetered on BigPond); Samsung, LG (coming soon)

All league, all the time. Provided by BigPond, League TV offers the continuous programming of Rugby League, from recent matches to news and interviews, and is a must for any league fan.

Free (unmetered on BigPond); Samsung, LG (coming soon)

If AFL is the sport of the nation, then Footy TV is Australia's national IPTV channel. Covering all the news from the AFL, including match replays and highlights, Footy TV is 24/7 AFL action.

Free (unmetered on BigPond); Samsung, LG (coming soon)

Fast cars need a fast channel, and V8 is dedicated to delivering 24-hour coverage of the V8 Supercar championship series. With live races, expert analysis and news and interviews, this is the channel rev heads dream about.

Free (unmetered on BigPond); Samsung, LG (coming soon)

Fancy a punt? BigPond Racing is dedicated to thoroughbred racing, both locally and internationally, with expert analysis and tipping services for anyone craving a day at the races from the comfort of their lounge.

Free (unmetered on BigPond); Samsung, LG

Breaking away from the traditional streaming TV channels, NRL Game Analyser lets users watch rugby league matches on their terms. With matches made available after 24 hours, Game Analyser lets viewers skip through to key moments of the game, from tries scored to big hits, errors, fouls, bloopers, penalties and more. What's more, it offers complete coverage of every match from the 2010 and 2011 NRL season, plus State of Origin and international matches on demand.

Free (unmetered on BigPond); Samsung, LG

Taking the sport of AFL and making it easier to watch is the AFL Game Analyser. Like its NRL counterpart, matches are made available after 24 hours, and include every match from the 2010 and 2011 season, including finals. With shortcuts to each match's key moments, from marks to behinds, contested marks to free kicks and 50-metre penalties to marks inside 50 metres, it's the most time effective way of watching the Australian national sport.

From US$60/year (metered); LG, Panasonic

Major League Baseball doesn't have a huge following in Australia, but if you are a fan, you can access America's favourite sport directly through LG or Panasonic TVs. You need to subscribe to MLB's service via the PC first and then link your TV, but once done, you have access to high quality streams of all MLB matches, including both current and archived seasons.

Free (metered); LG

The world's toughest clay court tournament has its own dedicated app for LG TVs courtesy of Fox Sports. With access to every match from all 15 days of the tournament, users can quickly find shortcuts to key points, fouls, players, Aussies, celebrity appearances, interviews within a few button presses of the remote.

Offering playback of the previous eight weeks of Super Rugby, including the finals, the Rugby Analyser is a comprehensive shortcut through the world's toughest rugby tournament. With easy links to tries, conversions and penalty goals, plus big hits, lineouts, scrums, phase play, bloopers and more. You can even drill down to find individual players and monitor their individual performance through a match.

Free (metered); LG

Want to know where the NSW Waratahs are sitting on the Super Rugby tables? Want to know what the score was in round two between the ACT Brumbies and the Melbourne Rebels? The Fox Sports Rugby Scores app gives you complete documentation over every match from this year's tournament.

Free (metered); Sony

Surfing, snowboarding, skating — all sports you'd associate with the Billabong Brand, so it's no surprise there's plenty of each of them in the Billabong Channel on Sony's TVs. From documentaries and films to interviews with each sport's "personalities", this is almost more a big video channel ad for Billabong than a real sports channel, but some of the videos are still amazing to watch.

Free (metered); LG, Sony (limited)

The world's most gruelling bike race is a dedicated app on LG TVs, offering highlight videos and interviews from each stage of the race, as well as detailed information on the race itself, current standings and live broadcasts of the race after 10pm. Sony's SBS app also features highlights and interview videos of the race, but seems less frequently updated than the LG app.

Free (metered); Sony

If you see yourself as the next Tiger Woods and want to perfect your technique on the green, or even just get some advice on the perfect swing, GolfLink.com has a selection of helpful tutorial videos on improving your golfing ability. Nike sponsorship not included.

Free (metered); Sony

If your football of choice is perfectly round, the SBS channel on Sony's Bravia Internet Video has a dedicated section for 2010's Soccer World Cup. Every match from last year's tournament is available, viewable by half. You can finally relive the sense of shame felt during Australia's woeful performances.