B&TB&TB&T
  • Advertising
  • Campaigns
  • Marketing
  • Media
  • Technology
  • Regulars
    • Agency Scorecards
    • Best of the Best
    • Campaigns of the Month
    • CMO Power List
    • CMOs to Watch
    • Culture Bites
    • Fast 10
    • New Business Winners
    • Spotlight on Sponsors
  • Jobs
  • Awards
    • 30 Under 30
    • B&T Awards
    • Cairns Crocodiles
    • Women In Media
    • Women Leading Tech
Search
Trending topics:
  • Cairns Crocodiles
  • Nine
  • Seven
  • Cannes Lions
  • State of Origin
  • WPP
  • NRL
  • B&T Women in Media
  • Thinkerbell
  • Pinterest
  • AFL
  • imaa
  • Anthony Albanese
  • Meta
  • Spotlight on Sponsors
  • AI
  • ARN
  • TV Ratings
  • Radio Ratings
  • Sports Marketing

  • About
  • Contact
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Advertise
© 2025 B&T. The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd.
Reading: Karl Stefanovic Leads Chorus Of Criticism Against Optus’ “Hopeless” World Cup Stream
Share
B&TB&T
Subscribe
Search
  • Advertising
  • Campaigns
  • Marketing
  • Media
  • Technology
  • Regulars
    • Agency Scorecards
    • Best of the Best
    • Campaigns of the Month
    • CMO Power List
    • CMOs to Watch
    • Culture Bites
    • Fast 10
    • New Business Winners
    • Spotlight on Sponsors
  • Jobs
  • Awards
    • 30 Under 30
    • B&T Awards
    • Cairns Crocodiles
    • Women In Media
    • Women Leading Tech
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Advertise
© 2025 B&T. The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd.
B&T > Media > Karl Stefanovic Leads Chorus Of Criticism Against Optus’ “Hopeless” World Cup Stream
MediaTechnology

Karl Stefanovic Leads Chorus Of Criticism Against Optus’ “Hopeless” World Cup Stream

Daisy Doctor
Published on: 18th June 2018 at 12:45 PM
Daisy Doctor
Share
2 Min Read
SHARE

Optus has been forced to issue an apology following poor quality streams, buffering and playback issues with the broadcasting of the FIFA World Cup.

Optus experienced its first tech problems during Friday night’s match between Egypt and Uruguay.

Angry consumers paying $14.99 per month for the streaming Optus Sport service took to social media to decry the service.

Is anyone out there having problems watching @FIFAWorldCup #ARGvICE because I certainly am ?

— Robbie Slater (@RobbieSlater17) June 16, 2018

Going to bed what a farce ! Absolute disgrace !

— Robbie Slater (@RobbieSlater17) June 16, 2018

Bought Optus App. Still haven’t seen one minute of football on it. This needs to be addressed. Can’t believe Australians are held out of watching the biggest football event in the WORLD. Unbelievably poor #OptusSport

— Elise Kellond-Knight (@elise_kk8) June 16, 2018

A cracking start to the game.#SerbiaVsCostaRica #WorldCup #WorldCupRussia2018 #Optus pic.twitter.com/RGeb7hMpoY

— Nick Quinn (@Quinny_1) June 17, 2018

TV personality Karl Stefanovic also hopped on the bandwagon, slamming Optus on this morning’s episode of the Today Show.

During the heated takedown, Stefanovic said, “It’s the biggest show in town – and instead of watching the World Cup we are watching ‘playback error’ on our phones.

https://youtu.be/Jl8zPR38LCc

“Many were sceptical when Optus acquired the rights to the World Cup, many thought they wouldn’t be up to it – well nearly a week in, they are proving the sceptics right.

“Optus is hopeless. If you can’t deliver the product you are selling you go out of business. The problem is no-one else can sell it, they don’t have the rights, Optus has the rights.”

Optus has now released a public apology addressing the issues.

"I apologise unreservedly to all Australians.

"We should have done better, we can do better and we will do better."@Optus CEO Allen Lew to @OptusSport customers who experienced streaming issues during the opening nights of the #WorldCup #OptusSport

— Optus (@Optus) June 17, 2018

It read, “We have seen a large demand for our streaming service and the overwhelming majority of people have had a positive experience.

“Unfortunately, a small number of customers who watched the match on the Optus Sport app, on certain devices, experienced some buffering issues.”

“Optus has taken a number of pro-active actions with our partners to improve the experience of these customers.

“As a result of these actions, incidences of buffering reduced significantly during the course of the night to low levels.”

Join more than 30,000 advertising industry experts
Get all the latest advertising and media news direct to your inbox from B&T.

No related posts.

TAGGED: FIFA, Optus Sport
Share
Daisy Doctor
By Daisy Doctor
Follow:
Daisy Doctor was a journalist at B&T from 2017 - 2019. She is also a Social Media Manager & Podcast Host.

Latest News

Cindy Rose Appointed WPP CEO
10/07/2025
Dame Lisa Carrington.
Zespri Teams Up With World Champion Kayaker Dame Lisa Carrington In Global Partnership
10/07/2025
Agency Scorecard: EssenceMediacom
10/07/2025
Agency Scorecard: It’s Friday
10/07/2025
//

B&T is Australia’s leading news publication magazine for the advertising, marketing, media and PR industries.

 

B&T is owned by parent company The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd.

About B&T

  • About
  • Contact
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Advertise

Top Categories

  • Advertising
  • Campaigns
  • Marketing
  • Media
  • Opinion
  • Technology
  • TV Ratings

Sign Up for Our Newsletter



B&TB&T
Follow US
© 2025 B&T. The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Register Lost your password?