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Optus have announced they will partner with SBS for the next three years on English Premier League and the 2018 FIFA World Cup, with there to be a game of Premier League on SBS once a week in exchange for Optus broadcasting every game of the World Cup.
SBS will have one EPL game on free-to-air a week for the next three years, but will sacrifice exclusive coverage of the World Cup, only getting one game a day during the tournament.
Optus will broadcast all matches of the 2018 Football World Cup, as well as other events including the Conferations Cup and the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The primary channel will be Optus’ Fetch TV, which will have a 24-hour channel as well as up to 10 sub-channels so they can simultaneously broadcast Premier League games.
Fetch is a subscription network, and games will be broadcast through a variety of apps on mobile and Tablet, as well as via the website for PC users, and able to be streamed to TVs via a set-top box.
It is a massive upheaval in the way people will watch sport, with only one game available a week by the traditional channels of Pay or free-to-air TV.
Optus will broadcast all the magazine shows during the week, and post and pre-game analysis from the UK for the Premier League. They will also have access to all shows produced by the Premier League as part of their rights agreement, which was reported to be worth $50 million over three years.
SBS deal includes sacrificing comprehensive World Cup coverage – just 1 game a day for SBS in 2018, but all Oz games and opener/final games
— Kevin Airs (@KevinAirs442) March 17, 2016
It also appears that Foxtel’s last-ditch effort to secure the rights to the EPL in pubs and clubs failed, with Optus to have a satellite broadcast platform delivering the Premier League to those premises.
It is not yet known how much the product costs, or when the channel will be available.
Optus CEO Allen Lew was bullish about the product, insisting the delivery would be better than a ball whipped in by Christian Eriksen.
“With Optus, football fans are spoiled for choice. As the only telco in Australia to own and operate network infrastructure across all three mobile, fixed and satellite platforms, we are in a unique position to deliver the English Premier League and the 2018 FIFA World Cup, to more Australians, in more ways than ever before.”
“Broadcast has been a key part of our services since the inception of Optus’ satellite business. We have developed rich expertise in broadcasting and have a long history in delivering high quality live broadcasts via our satellite fleet.”
What do you think of this move Roarers? Are you happy with this deal.
Here’s the full statement from Optus
Optus today unveiled plans to expand its football offering with the 2018 FIFA World Cup. In a significant milestone for Australian sports fans, SBS will sub-licence the FIFA World Cup to Optus.
Optus will transmit live all 64 matches of the 2018 Men’s World Cup, as well as other FIFA events including the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup over a range of TV and internet-enabled devices.
Bringing fans closer to all the EPL action
Optus today also announced plans to deliver an amazing viewing experience for Australian EPL fans, with the 2016/17 season to be broadcast across a range of television, mobile, online, and out-of-home viewing platforms, including:
Australia’s first ever 24/7 football channel dedicated exclusively to the English Premier League, and carried on Optus’ subscription TV platform, Optus TV with Fetch. –
– With up to ten sub-channels, Optus will accommodate every match of every round live, so fans never miss a minute of the action on match day;
– A mini set-top box device which allows mobile customers an entertainment experience on their TV screen, via Optus TV with Fetch. It includes access to 35 premium entertainment channels, and the ability to pause and rewind the action;
– An Optus EPL App for mobile and tablet devices, giving customers access to Optus’ 24/7 EPL channel with un-metered mobile and fixed broadband streaming of live games.
The Optus EPL App will be progressively offered via selected media TV player devices and Smart TVs;
– Optus’ EPL website which will feature live matches for subscribers, as well as news and exclusive content;
– A free-to-air sub-licence which will see one match per round broadcast live on SBS for the next three seasons; an
– The Optus satellite broadcast platform for customers who either can’t access Optus’ broadband services, or can’t get High Definition content via their broadband service. The satellite service will also deliver live games via Optus’ EPL channel to commercial premises, including pubs and clubs.Allen Lew, Chief Executive Officer at Optus said, “With Optus, football fans are spoiled for choice. As the only telco in Australia to own and operate network infrastructure across all three mobile, fixed and satellite platforms, we are in a unique position to deliver the English Premier League and the 2018 FIFA World Cup, to more Australians, in more ways than ever before.”
“Broadcast has been a key part of our services since the inception of Optus’ satellite business. We have developed rich expertise in broadcasting and have a long history in delivering high quality live broadcasts via our satellite fleet.”
Get more EPL News and Analysis than ever before
Optus’ 24/7 dedicated EPL channel will give fans access to the most insightful and comprehensive match coverage, EPL news and analysis ever offered in Australia, including:– Brand new pre and post-match magazine shows and game-day analysis live from the UK, including Matchday Live, Football Today and Kick Off;
– New daily EPL news programming and interactive shows such as Fanzone;
– A full suite of English Premier League-produced programs including World, Netbusters and the Saturday and Sunday Review shows; and
– On-ground match analysis and reports provided by the Premier League’s own pool of experts.
Register your interestEPL will be available exclusively to Optus customers. Full pricing details will be unveiled mid-year.
EPL fans, pubs and clubs, and other venues that are interested in accessing EPL can register their interest for EPL updates including news, offers, pricing and technical support at http://www.optus.com.au/epl.
Enhanced Network Experience
Optus has invested more than $1 billion annually over the past ten years to build faster, stronger and more resilient networks, capable of delivering an exceptional experience for data-hungry customers who love to stream content.Optus’ ongoing network investment program is yielding results with the performance of its mobile and fixed networks recognised through independent testing, including:
The Netflix Internet Service Provider Index has ranked Optus’ fixed networks as the best for prime-time streaming for the last six consecutive months;
Optus has delivered the fastest streaming experience for Stan customers for the last five consecutive months (October 2015 – February 2016)**; and
the P3 Comms Day Benchmark has ranked Optus’ mobile network as the best along major roads and highways.“In 2016, we will deliver a range of game-changing entertainment experiences for customers, using network technology, innovative content delivery platforms and our growing line-up of sport and content partnerships,” Mr Lew said.
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