The English Premier League (EPL) will have a new look as Optus takes over Australian broadcasting rights next season.
The new logo sets a lion head icon and the words 'Premier League' against colourful backdrops, a departure from the current logo. It was conceived by the DesignStudio agency and Robin Brand Consultants.
The world's richest football league will also be without a title sponsor when Barclays' deal expires at the end of this season.
Last year, administrators knocked back a £45million ($92 million) per-year offer from drinks brand Diageo to take on the naming rights.
“From next season we will move away from title sponsorship and the competition will be known simply as the Premier League, a decision which provided the opportunity to consider how we wanted to present ourselves as an organisation and competition," Premier League managing director Richard Masters says.
Aside from its inaugural season of 1992-93, this is the first time the EPL will have a title sponsor-free brand.
Beer brewer Carling was the original title sponsor, signing a four-year £12 million deal from the 1993-94 season. In 2011, Barclaycard took over, paying £48m for a three-year contract. Several extensions later, Barclays signed a £120 million in 2012.
It's unlikely the loss of title sponsor income will affect the EPL too much. In 2016, a three-year TV rights deal worth £5.14 billion ($10.5 billion) came into effect, dwarfing the AFL's six-year $2.5 billion inked last year.
Last year, Optus outbid Foxtel to secure the broadcast rights to the Premier League for the next three seasons. Speculation is rife as to whether Optus will on-sell some of the rights, which cost $180 million, to rival Foxtel. It is believed Optus is developing a direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service to show content via PCs and mobile devices.
As for the new logo, so far it has attracted mixed reviews on social media.
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