Optus could show EPL via customised streaming service

Arvind Hickman
By Arvind Hickman | 9 February 2016
 
Manchester City star David Silva scores in the Manchester derby at Old Trafford. Optus is weighing up its options to show the EPL.

Optus is developing a direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service for next season's English Premier League (EPL), Fairfax reports.

This could allow fans to watch their favourite teams live and on catch-up via PCs or specifically made apps for mobiles, tablets and streaming devices, with discounts to Optus customers.

Optus customers can already receive online access to exclusive cricket content after the telco signed a deal with Cricket Australia.

Last year, Optus secured the rights to the world's most popular football league, which features Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal, for more than $180 million over three seasons.

It is not clear if Optus will resell some of the broadcasting rights to rivals such as Foxtel – the current Australian rights holder – or make a play to broadcast the competition alone, a potentially expensive proposition.

Fairfax understands Optus is open to working with Foxtel, which already has the ability to offer the league to pubs and clubs for a premium. Public venue subscriptions are a lucrative part of sports broadcasting and Optus will need to find a solution to show games at venues to get value out of its EPL rights deal.

It is believed the Premier League is likely to be available on Fetch TV, which Optus partners with.

Optus' parent company Singtel offers the EPL over cable television and its Singtel TV Go app for mobile devices.

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