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Foxtel has responded to losing the rights to the English Premier League, announcing a deal with beIN Sports that will see them broadcast the UEFA Champions League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Europa League and Serie A to their subscribers from May 15.
After being pipped by Optus for the rights to the EPL in November last year, questions surrounded Foxtel’s football offering, now headed by their A-League coverage.
This new deal is a great win for all those who have the Foxtel Sports package, as it will provide subscribers with three beIN Sports-branded channels for no extra cost.
beIN had previously snapped up rights to the Champions League, Europa League and La Liga and Serie A, all of which were broadcast by Foxtel in the past. The Champions League final and Europa League final will both be live on beIN Sports, as will the Wallabies’ spring tour.
A beIN Sports subscription on Foxtel previously cost $19.99 per month or $199.99 a year, on top of a Foxtel Sports package, which comes at a minimum cost of $50 per month.
The new beIN sports channels will also be available on Foxtel’s Play and Go services for those who livestream their subscription.
Any current subscriber to beIN Sports will get a refund for any payments already made for after the May 15 deadline.
There’s no doubt this is a direct response to Optus’ announcement of their English Premier League coverage earlier this month, where they announced they will broadcast the League over Fetch TV, with up to ten sub-channels simultaneously broadcasting games.
While SBS does show a select number of games on free-to-air TV, beIN Sports has the rights to all matches for both the Europe League and Champions League tournaments.
It’s made the race for football coverage in this country particularly juicy, with the A-League rights coming up for renewal soon. Talks for the new deal are set to start next month (April) with commercial networks reportedly hovering around the league currently broadcast by Foxtel and SBS.
Foxtel has long been committed to football coverage, as has beIN over the course of its journey from Setanta Sports to its current guise.
The Qatari-based broadcaster has previously only been available in Australia as part of a separate subscription, but as of the 15th will be included in the Foxtel sports package without any additional cost.
“The addition of these new dedicated sports channels from our partners at beIN is a huge win for sports fans who subscribe to Foxtel, greatly increasing the value of a subscription,” said Foxtel’s outgoing chief executive, Richard Freudenstein.
“There is no doubt Foxtel is the home of live sport in Australia.”
Brave words from Richard.
What’s on the Fox?
UEFA Champions League
Spanish La Liga
German Bundesliga
French Ligue 1
Italian Serie A
Scottish Professional Football League
USA Major League Soccer
English Championship
A-League
Europa League
Asian Champions League
Club World Cup
Football Internationals (and friendlies)
Wallabies’ spring tour
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