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The sports broadcasting revolution appears here to stay after Optus recorded a surge in sign-ups off the back of its English Premier League acquisition.
The telco sent shockwaves across the Australian landscape in late 2015 with a three-year $180-million plus investment to secure the rights to the soccer competition.
But the release of sales figures for the second half of 2016 – when it first transmitted the league – suggests it was a canny decision.
News Corp reports Optus added 201,000 new post-paid handset customers between July and December 2016, while fierce rival Telstra added 79,000.
The result was Optus’ best in six years.
The telco has the rights to all 380 matches, as well as highlights and other related content. SBS also broadcasts one match a week.
They also have the rights to broadcast June’s Confederations Cup and next year’s World Cup, both staged in Russia.
Optus executive Ben White told News Corp they were on track to see a positive return on investment.
“We have three years to do that but we are very happy with the way it’s tracking at the moment,” he said.
White said they would look to add more content off the back of the Premier League rights, which wouldn’t necessarily be sport.
“We will certainly in the coming months be talking about some additional exclusive content we will be adding to the service,” he said.
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