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Optus goes on conversion offensive by making EPL streaming available only to customers

Optus is set to try to force fans of the English Premier League to sign up for one of its mobile internet services, announcing a new suite of apps and channels to watch the matches on.

optus EPL sign up pageThe telco surprised many in market by stealing in to take the rights to the football league from Fox Sports for around $60m per year, with many observers asking whether the telco could recoup that cost.

It appears the company is set to try to do that by forcing fans to subscribe to one of its home broadband or mobile plans in order to access the games, with anyone paying less than $85 per month for a plan being made to pay an additional $15 per month to access the games.

In a statement, Ben White, managing director of marketing and product at Optus, said: “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%) football fans who are not already Optus customers are out of contract for at least one of their fixed broadband or mobile services.

“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 post-paid BYO mobile plan that will provide access to the EPL.”

While the company is launching new tablet and mobile apps for the League it is also claiming to have solved the issues around streaming the matches into venues, another sticking point once the sport leaves the Fox Sports platform.

The telco is also launching a 24/7 dedicated football channel on Fetch TV which will be available to non-Optus customers, and is also launching its own Yes TV by Fetch Mini device to extend its Yes TV offering to post-paid mobile customers allowing them to stream on the big screen, starting at $5 per month, on eligible plans.

Optus has been approached for more details.

Alex Hayes

The future of sports broadcasting will be one of the issues discussed at Mumbrella’s Sports Marketing Summit on July 28. Click the banner for more details.

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