Sounds about right, end of next season. Perfect timinge negotiate.
It would be nice if EPL renewed their deal only if Optus Sport was opened up to all Fetch subscribers, even for a fee. It would give Fox Sports a good run for their money!
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I suspect that if they lose the EPL rights, theyâll on-sell the Euro 2020 rights (assuming they get them) because it doesnât make sense for it to be a stand alone offering
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Surely beIN and Fox wonât let Optus win EPL rights again? They canât be allowed to âbuyâ only for their own customers again. Whatever the faults of Foxtel and Fox Sports and there are many, you donât have to be with an exclusive telco to watch EPL. Optus donât deserve to have anything!
I donât think Foxtel would be willing to let the EPL slip by again. It feels like the following of the EPL has gone backwards in this country since Optus got the rights, and it would be disastrous if they renewed it. Ideally, Fox and beIN would share it, but Foxtel need to do whatever it takes. @jag3146 makes a good point above - Foxtel has its faults, absolutely; but at least you donât have to be with Telstra to get it.
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I think one of the biggest problems with Optus having the EPL rights is that you have to be a Optus customer, a good idea would have been Optus allowing Foxtel access to itâs 24 hour EPL channel as a add on channel, where Foxtel customers would have to pay say for example $5 per month extra to be able to watch the channel. If FOX or beIN or maybe even ESPN get the EPL rights, they can get rid of the Club Channels like MUTV or Liverpool TV.
Hopefully Optus doesnât get the 2018 - 2021 UEFA Champions League rights from beIN.
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For the sake of competition (and vested interest that I have Optus Sports through Fetch), surely competition is a good thing?
If theyâd on sold to Foxtel with their initial EPL deal that wouldâve defeated the purpose of obtaining the rights in the first place. Back in the 90s, Foxtel were spewing they didnât get AFL and even started Super League as result of missing NRL rights to Optus.
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Itâs believed Foxtel, while still bidding for the EPL, will not be putting in a knockout bid. Optus is expected to bid big and win the rights.
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Optus renews coverage, will open up premium sport offering to non customers from the World Cup onwards for $15 a month
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I donât think that story actually states that. I think itâs referring to the Optus deal for the EPL that has expired.
Sorry thatâs in a different story.
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Thatâs good news for soccer fans not with Optus.
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OPTUS EXTENDS PREMIER LEAGUE RIGHTS AND OPENS UP OPTUS SPORT AHEAD OF THE 2018 FIFA WORLD CUP TM TO ALL AUSTRALIAN VIEWERS
Optus has today announced it will continue to be the Australian home of elite international football, having extended its relationship for exclusive Australian rights to the Premier League for a further three seasons, commencing in August 2019.
This includes exclusive live coverage on Optus Sport for every Premier League match, and full on-demand, replay and short form rights for all 380 matches from 2019 to 2022.
Optus CEO Allen Lew said, âOne of the great things about Australian football fans is their passion for the sport, and weâre elated to extend our Premier League broadcast rights for another three seasons. This shows our long-term commitment to provide exclusive premium content and our transition to be a multi-media entertainment provider. Fans have shown that they love what we are doing in bringing the best club competition in the world to Australia and we look forward to taking it to the next level over the next four years.â
Executive Chairman at the Premier League, Richard Scudamore said, âWe are very pleased that Optus has again chosen to invest in our rights in Australia and will exclusively broadcast the Premier League for the next four seasons.
âOptus is an excellent partner for the League and we look forward to continuing to work with them to make available the best possible Premier League content to fans across the country.â
Optus Sport Going OTT
As excitement about the 2018 FIFA World CupTM intensifies, Optus has separately announced a new direct-to-consumer subscription option for all Australian viewers to access Optus Sport, which will be the only place to watch all 64 matches of the 2018 FIFA World CupTM.From later this month, Optus Sport will be available for the first time to non-Optus customers and Optus customers who were previously not eligible, for $14.99 per month via Google Play and the Apple App Store. This is a significant step in the evolution of premium sport in Australia and will allow all football fans the opportunity to experience all that Optus Sport has to offer on a month to month basis.
All subscribers will be able to access all of Optus Sportâs 2018 FIFA World CupTM coverage, including two 24/7 channels, all 64 matches both live and on-demand and Optus Sportâs entire array of dedicated World Cup programming, as well as all other sports programming on Optus Sport.
Eligible Optus customers will continue to be able to enjoy access to all Optus Sport content.
2018 FIFA World CupTM Programming Highlights
âWeâve made sure every single match played in the 2018 FIFA World CupTM receives dedicated pre and post-game analysis and both live and on-demand viewing options,â Mr Lew said.âAs a bonus for fans, Optus has assembled an expert team of analysts comprised of international and national talent who will be based in Russia and Sydney and will produce and deliver five hours of dedicated programming every match day during the tournament. These teams will be led by former Socceroo Mark Schwarzer and Optus Sportâs Richard Bayliss, and will provide a unique insight into events throughout the whole tournament.
Throughout the tournament Optus Sport will be the only place Australian viewers can watch all 64 games live. Within this, 39 matches will be only available live and exclusive through Optus Sport, including all of Lionel Messiâs Argentinean team group stage matches.
Optus Sport subscribers will also be able to enjoy live on air content every matchday with pre-game shows, full match coverage and daily highlights produced by the Optus Sport production team.
Some of the best matches exclusive to Optus Sport that are being played during the tournament include:
- Egypt v Uruguay on 15 June at 10pm AEST featuring the incomparable Egyptian striker Mo Salah who has lit up the Premier League this year
- All three of Argentinaâs pool matches, v Iceland on 16 June, v Croatia on 23 June, and v Nigeria on 28 June - meaning Lionel Messi fans will be glued to Optus Sport
- Brazilâs first game v Switzerland on 18 June which promises to be one of the key matches in the group stage
- Croatia v Nigeria on 17 June
- Australiaâs two Group C rivals Peru and Denmark playing each other on 17 June; and
- South Korea playing Sweden at 10pm AEST on 18 June.
Optus Sport App
The Optus Sport App will provide people with greater flexibility to connect with the 2018 FIFA World CupTM whether at home or on the go.âWeâve optimised the App to be compatible with all major smartphones, as well as web browsers, Apple TV and Chromecast, offering a truly flexible viewing experience. Additional features include Start Over, meaning if youâve missed the start of a live match you can simply select the start over option and jump straight back to the start of the match.â
The sporting entertainment doesnât end at the World Cup, with Optus Sport subscriptions thereafter providing access to all of Optus Sportâs exclusive content, which continues with the start of the 2018/19 Premier League season in August 2018.
âAs a leading content provider in Australian sport, weâve made the decision to give everyone the opportunity to subscribe to Optus Sport and experience the state-of-the art sport coverage and insights we have available to our Optus customers,â Mr Lew added.
To find out more about Optus Sport people can visit https://sport.optus.com.au/
Optus Sport will shortly announce its full array of World Cup programming, on-air talent and programming line-up.
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Roy Morgan research has found that Optus subscriptions have increased over the past three years of the telcoâs broadcast deal with English Premier League.
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Iâm glad to read of that.
Optus in its original form invested heavily in HFC infrastructure and TV infrastructure + programming to distribute, produce and buy good TV content. Itâs a pity there were so many bit players from overseas who didnât sustain their vision in Optusâ pay TV.
Optus were burnt heavily and I wondered if theyâd ever return to TV.
Them getting into live sport and investing with Australian on air staff and local production shows they understand how to cherry pick and get into the premium content for a good return that hopefully will sustain and grow their investment in content.
It will be interesting to see if more take up Optus sport when the forced Optus service requirement is removed
Lots of social media complaints about constant buffering and the stream dropping out during World Cup coverageâŚ
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On Day 2 the stream on the laptop (using Firefox) was going well until it kept asking me to resolve a non existent issue relating to the browser, non existent because it was working well even if a little choppy at times.