When Australia goes in to bat against South Africa in November it will mark a new era of Ultra HD live broadcasts, but Foxtel is already looking to the AFL as it hammers home its advantage over the nation's free-to-air broadcasters.

The Ultra HD push comes as the pay TV giant continues to shift customers across from Telstra's metropolitan HFC cables to Optus' nationwide satellite service, as the cable networks are rolled into the NBN.

Foxtel's access to the cable networks ends in 2023 and the majority of customers are already connected via satellite but, in an effort to fast-track this migration, its new Ultra HD broadcasts are only available to satellite customers.

In order to receive the new Ultra HD channel, cable customers need a satellite dish on the roof — which could incur a $100 installation fee — as well as Foxtel's new $125 iQ4 set-top box. Unlike the iQ3, the new iQ4 only works with Foxtel's satellite service, letting users play, pause, rewind and record 4K broadcasts.

The existing iQ3 is available in two models, supporting cable or satellite connections. As such, customers eventually moving from cable to satellite will need to replace their set-top box even if they're not chasing Ultra HD channels.