Optus To Charge $15 A Month For EPL Matches

Detail of a soccer game with four players in action
Emma Mackenzie
By Emma Mackenzie



English Premier League fans who coincide with being Optus customers are able to watch the illustrious soccer matches for $15 a month.

The Aussie telco forked out a cool few million for the exclusive rights six months ago, ramping up its sporting side. Then, while having the rights but nowhere to broadcast the matches for free, struck a deal with SBS to show one match per round for the next three seasons.

All the matches though are available for customers of the Optus channel on subscription TV service Fetch TV.

However, in a cheeky move on Monday, subscription service Foxtel, who had held the rights to the EPL before Optus and was understandably pissed off someone else got then, struck a deal with the British leagues themselves in their homeland. The deal will allow Foxtel to broadcast the most popular matches, albeit 24 hours after they’ve already been shown by Optus.

Still, Optus customers and potential customers have the option of selecting EPL on selected plans for an extra $15 a month.

Ben White, managing director of product and marketing at Optus said there’s a range of different options for soccer fans.

“While you’ll need to be an Optus customer to get all the EPL action, Optus research shows that close to two in three (63 per cent) football fans, who are not already Optus customers, are out of contract for at least one of their fixed broadband or mobile services,” he said.

“We’re confident that when these fans see our range of great value EPL-ready plans, they’ll be convinced that now’s the right time to switch. And for those not quite ready to make that extra commitment, we also have a great postpaid BYO mobile plan that will provide access to the EPL.”

From the Optus press release, the options for the telco’s customers are:

  • Every match live: Australia’s first 24/7 EPL channel boasts up to nine sub-channels, so viewers never miss a minute of the action on match day, no matter how many teams are playing.
  • Dedicated EPL channel: Devoted exclusively to the English Premier League, Optus’ 24/7 EPL channel will carry all 380 live matches of the 2016/17 season, as well as the most comprehensive EPL news and analysis ever offered in Australia with shows like Match of the Week, News, Fanzone and Match Day Live.
  • Un-metered EPL: Streaming EPL over the Optus mobile and fixed network will be data free on eligible plans. This means customers accessing the content from an eligible plan will be able to stream as much EPL content as they want, without using their mobile, mobile broadband or home broadband data allowance. (Note: advertisements, analytics and authentication use data).
  • Device of your choice: Optus will launch new mobile and tablet apps, and a dedicated website that will allow customers to synch up to four devices through their subscription. To broadcast EPL at a venue, register your interest here: https://offer.optus.com.au/eplbusiness.
  • Screen-in-screen viewing: Subscriptions come with access to a dedicated new website that supports up to four screens, for those times when games are on at the same time.



Latest News