Australian Football fans will need to get use to paying for access to the EPL, after free-to-air broadcasters have failed to secure rights to this years season.
With the 2019-2020 English Premier League season kicking off this weekend, Optus will now be the exclusive home of the competition in Australia.
SBS had held free-to-air rights for a Saturday night ‘Match of the Round’ game for the last three seasons. The weekend match often aired in primetime and was a significant audience drawcard for the government broadcaster.
In 2016, SBS negotiated a 3-year rights football rights deal with Optus. The agreement involved SBS trading away 39 World Cup matches in exchange for Saturday night EPL coverage. That deal has now expired.
Foxtel has also scaled back its football coverage. Three dedicated EPL club channels have recently been removed from the pay-tv provider as part of a cost-cutting move, with Foxtel desperate to lower its sports rights expenditure.
Optus has held broadcast rights for the EPL since late 2015. The telco is reportedly paying $65 million per season to secure the popular football code.
The Optus Sports coverage costs $15 per month, but can be free if you subscribe to an eligible mobile or home phone plan.
The opening round of the English Premier League will see Optus broadcast the following matches.
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Liverpool Vs. Norwich City – 5am (AEST) Saturday, August 10
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West Ham United Vs. Manchester City – 9:30pm (AEST) Saturday, August 10
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Watford Vs. Brighton – 12am (AEST) Sunday, August 11
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AFC Bournemouth Vs. Sheffield United – 12am (AEST) Sunday, August 11
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Burnley Vs. Southampton – 12am (AEST) Sunday, August 11
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Crystal Palace Vs. Everton – 12am (AEST) Sunday, August 11
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Tottenham Vs. Aston Villa – 2:30am (AEST) Sunday, August 11
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Leicester City Vs. Wolverhampton – 11pm (AEST) Sunday, August 11
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Newcastle United Vs. Arsenal – 11pm (AEST) Sunday, August 11
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Manchester United Vs. Chelsea – 1.30am (AEST) Sunday, August 11
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English football is a working mans game and should be free to air forever, especially for pensioners who cannot afford pay tv. I would love to see Optus boycotted over this untill\ they see sense and give it back to the public for free. Go on I dare everyone to do it.
Thanks for this article Kevin – was confused as to why new season EPL matches misding on SBS – you appear to be one of the few people with a cofent (albeit disapointing) explanation. Cheers
Watching the Premier League on SBS is as much a cultural experience as it is a sporting event, and that’s something that no other Australian broadcaster has come close to replicating. It’s frustrating that a company with no real interest in the content can deprive us of the SBS Premier League experience, purely for economic gain. Will be staying away from Optus, on principle.
We like to watch the A League games on Foxtel but also like to watch European football including the EPL. So it looks as though we have to make a choice now between the two.
It’s a shame Optus couldn’t come to an agreement with SBS so that we could at least see one EPL game a week.