Nine buys EPL and FA Cup rights from Optus
Nine has confirmed its purchase of the English Premier League and FA Cup from Optus for live and on-demand streaming on Stan Sport. While the broadcaster did not reveal the cost of the acquisition, media speculation suggests it will not be sufficient for Optus to recoup the reported $100m per year it has been paying.
In a widely anticipated move, Nine announced the purchase on the ASX this morning. The deal includes the UEFA Women’s Euro competition beginning in July, as well as Japan’s J League and America’s National Women’s Soccer League. The EPL 25/26 season kicks off in August.
“With this deal, Stan Sport takes its next big leap — delivering the Premier League and Emirates FA Cup alongside UEFA Champions League, Grand Slam tennis and our deep rugby slate, in one of the most powerful sport offerings in the country,” Nine MD of streaming and broadcast Amanda Laing was quoted as saying in a press release.
The EPL rights have changed hands
Nine said the EPL would be available in 4K resolution for the first time — an important improvement for sport on big screens.
The deal signals Optus’ retreat from its streaming content strategy, which began in 2016 when it took the EPL rights away from Foxtel in a deal that at time was said to be worth over $60m a year.
Optus first extended and then renewed this rights entirely in 2022 in a six-year deal for a reported $600m. Presumably it has now offloaded the majority of that big financial commitment.
“Optus Sport customers and the game of football will be in great hands at Stan, and we know the game will receive the broadcasting priority it deserves from an organisation whose specialty is delivering quality sports programming to its customers,” Optus CEO Stephen Rue was quoted as saying.
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much better outcome. Can move phone from optus now, have felt like an epl hostage since the data breach
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Enough money to buy rights of English Soccer, but they (like the other commercial channels) have to go crawling to the Federal Government to avoid having to invest in Australian content.
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Do I have to subscribe to Stan and Stan Sports to watch football now?
God.
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