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.
ChampionhsipFan
Guest
I am aware of the cancellation rate for Foxtel after it lost the EPL and can confirm that most of those canceling (and it was a massive number) cited loss of the EPL as the primary reason. Safe to assume many of those people picked up Optus contracts for the same reason. It is a myth that this was not a massive boost for Optus and a massive loss for Foxtel.
Chris
Guest
Yeah I don't think it's a case of EPL adding that many customers.. hardly. Big sell of cheaper monthly plans. Anyway the Optus deal has all but ruined most of the supporter groups of the EPL in Australia..most social clubs..were members meet at pubs don't want to pay more for Optus.. these club members are left out.. then add to that the massive lose of revenue for the clubs.. less jobs.. getting back to the streaming.. its poor quality.. someone tell me any positive from Optus running this s..t show like they currently are..
albatross
Roar Pro
I'm sure that nice Mr Malcayman Trumble said we'd all have NBN by the end of 2016,
Ian
Guest
Paul - how do you watch A-League then? As you seem to support a club. You appear to be the WSW fan commenting of late. Could be wrong. Satellite for Foxtel depends on your area. I recently moved one suburb and now have satellite foxtel rather than cable. It does have transmission problems in strong storms. It does not stop working simply because it rains. That's great for you if 2mbs is fine but you should accept other people's comments for what they are. Plenty of us have crap internet speeds. how you survive on 2mbs is a mystery. Perhaps recheck your speed. Perhaps make reasonable comments for a change....for example your rant yesterday about WSW and the ref helping SFC.
Doc Disnick
Roar Guru
Well at least Optus aren't the most complained about Telco anymore. They were pipped late last year by guess who....Telstra. http://www.businessinsider.com.au/telstra-has-overtaken-optus-as-australias-most-complained-about-telco-2017-2 How they ever wrestled this crown off Telstra last year is beyond me.
MoriartyExp
Roar Rookie
Hey Paul. I didn't mention Foxtel, I wasn't in anyway saying Foxtel is better, I'm so sick of this "optus is the best" or "Foxtel should have the EPL" I'm neither, I actually stream all the games as well as I have Sky, BT Sports etc. The satellite in storms/heavy rain is a real issue for foxtel but this is due to (and this swings right back to optus having issues with streaming) BAD INFRASTRUCTURE! People should be upset with the infrastruture and not the provider. I highly doubt you are stremaing FHD with 2mbps, maybe HD (at best). Personally I like another platform giving foxtel a run for their money, I really do, just wish Optus handled it better.
Nemesis
Guest
"The FTA rights to the World Cup become a lot more valuable if Australia qualifies." The FTA TV rights for the 2018 Fifa WC were purchased 18 months ago by SBS. The deal is over & done. But football fans already know this. It matters not whether AUS qualifies, SBS has signed the deal & the contract is enforceable.
Beny Iniesta
Guest
The FTA rights to the World Cup become a lot more valuable if Australia qualifies. As it is - they aren't qualified for 2018 yet.
NUFCMVFC
Guest
For my part, I was getting $30 pre-paid Optus so right on deadline day decided to get the Plan, as I would save $15 Have to say I'm very happy with it, got the $5 a month Fetch Box, transmits well through my TV and I can get it all on demand on Tablets and phone etc I like the shows more, maybe because I'm English background I like hearing English commentators talk about EPL Have been paying attention, noticed they have Suzuki Cup and youth games, but they also seem to be expanding into Cricket Watch this space for Telstra etc EDIT: Worth mentioning my Wi Fi is with TPG, so you can get it streaming through TV with a non Optus network where the occasionally patchy 4G connectivity isn't an issue (Or if you are in Wi FI hotspot etc)
Nemesis
Guest
I've not worked with the Anti Siphon Legislation, but here are some points I just observed from quick look at the ACMA website. Broadcasting Services (Events) Notice (No. 1) 2010 "subscription television broadcasters are prohibited from acquiring the right to televise an event on the anti-siphoning list, unless ... the rights are held by either the ABC or SBS" And further "The anti-siphoning scheme does not: - reserve the broadcast rights to listed events solely for free-to-air broadcasters - oblige free-to-air broadcasters to buy the rights to events on the list - guarantee free-to-air broadcasters exclusive rights to events on the list - compel free-to-air broadcasters that acquire the rights to listed events to broadcast the events live, in full or at all."
Jeff Williamson
Roar Pro
Optus have been very good with EPL coverage. I was thinking it would not work all that well as my ADSL connection is slower than I would like, but Optus Sports has streamed well. Has been a step forward for sports broadcasting.
steve
Guest
You may want to check the accuracy of that re the FIFA World Cup. The World Cup is on the Federal Governments anti siphoning list meaning each match of the World Cup has to be broadcast free to the general public. Optus wont be allowed to siphon off the rest of the matches and hold the general public to ransom and make people sign up to their platform and charge them to view the games. They will be in breach of the Australian Parliaments Broadcasting Services Act.
Chris
Guest
Well I hope you're right. Dont mess with the WC. I watch every game and SBS's paltry 25 games (plus roos matches) is a total sell out
mattq
Guest
this is my main concern. couldn't care about the premier league but SBS sold its soul with regards to the WC for one measly EPL game a week. Hopefully there will be some deal with SBS to stream games they're not showing on TV via their website or something....
Nemesis
Guest
I had perfect quality video streaming for NFL on Twitter. Over a million people were tuned in, so the streaming coped beautifully. Streaming problems will occur when the online broadcaster is ill-equipped to stream. Optus, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube are experts at delivering content online. Foxtel is not an expert at online delivery & it shows.
Chris
Guest
No that's not what I'm saying at all. Streaming is a relatively new medium and I dont think they have the technology in place to meet the growing demand. Lets hope you are of the same opinion when 10x as many people want to stream World Cup matches thus placing more stress on the network.
Paul
Guest
I've got 2Mbs and it's fine. My neighbour has a satellite dish for Foxtel and when it rains he can't get a signal so presumably you don't think the a League should be on Foxtel either due to quality issues?
Chris
Guest
Yes exactly! I have terrible streaming issues and I live in the inner west of Sydney (in other words a HUGE market). When I ring my ISP they say "Oh thats because you live far from the exchange." "How far" I asked? "About 1.5 kms". WTF?
Chris
Guest
What??? Does this mean we need to stream World Cup matches in 2018? No way! Its going to be a disaster!
MoriartyExp
Roar Rookie
Hey Paul, There are many, many issues with people and streaming, I'm assuming you just live in a good area (net wise) with internet over 8mbps. I have friends in western Sydney who signed up to optus, can't get over 3-4mbps at home on ADSL and buffering is a serious issue. It may work for you, doesn't mean the rest of Australia has seamless streaming, not to mention pubs & clubs!