Optus EPL will see Foxtel lose subscribers and opens door for likes of Youtube say buyers
Optus’s swoop for the English Premier League (EPL) is a major “land grab” that leaves Foxtel facing the possibility of losing subscribers and opens the door to players like Youtube to bid for rights, according to senior media buyers.
Yesterday’s deal sees Fox Sports lose one of its only franchises which viewers cannot access on another platform, leading some buyers to express concerns hundreds of thousands of subscribers could be lost from the pay-TV platform should Optus decide not to on-sell the broadcast rights to it.
“With the dog’s dinner that is the ongoing NRL negotiations and the recent loss of the Champions League, by ESPN, it highlights just how competitive the world has become for Foxtel,” said Chris Walton, managing director of Nunn Media Sydney.
“They are now being squeezed on the one side by traditional networks who need the value live sport brings and on the other by non-traditional broadcasters who have got deep and direct relations with their own substantial customer sets.”
“EPL was the main thing holding a whole lot customers to their $100 subscriptions. Now that’s under threat.”
Too bad Abbott is gone now. Because Youtube would have been blocked by yesterday, and I dont think Turnbull will be up for doing this.
Murdoch could now turn to the army to launch a military offensive against Google instead on his behalf and evict them from Australia (yes a new idea and untried before regarding communications, but this totally disrupts something!).
Jerry Hall the new Joan of Arc?
well now will see how optus streams it..i would prefer a catchup service, how will it stream it to fetch it doesn’t have a channel of it own and the quality is subpar like afl coverage on channel 7 haha but then afl isn’t a real sport anyways, I hope optus sells it to sbs or at least get Saturday early games that start at 9pm or 10pm..foxtel deserves to die so either optus sells it to them for money or be nasty and blocks em seen Telstra is a competitor..all in all times are crap for aus viewers when daylight savings happen
I have been waiting for years the give Fox the Flick this will put the nail in to Foxtel coffin