The English Premier League is celebrating wrapping up two lucrative international television rights deals, following up its record-breaking six-year agreement with NBC in the U.S. with an extension of its exclusive rights deal with Australian telco Optus.
Optus’ sports arm Optus Sports won a competitive bidding process to secure the EPL for a further six seasons, up to and including the 2027/28 season, with all 380 games per season available on its streaming platform.
Local media reports say that Optus Sports beat off bids from the likes of Paramount+, Stan, Amazon Prime Video and Foxtel’s Kayo to remain the exclusive home of EPL in Australia. The company is reportedly set to pay $58 million per season, up from the $45 million per season under its current deal which began in 2016.
The company has also retained the rights for the fast-growing English Women’s Super League until 2024, a competition that includes high-profile Australian players such as Sam Kerr and Arsenal trio Lydia Williams, Caitlin Foord and Steph Catley.
Retaining the EPL rights was crucial for Optus Sports given the increased competition for sports rights in Australia and after the company lost the UEFA Champions League rights to Nine and Fairfax-backed streamer Stan in June. In May, Paramount+ signed a $145 million deal to show the A-League and W-League, Australia’s domestic men’s and women’s soccer competitions.
For the EPL, the NBC deal, reportedly north of $2.5 billion for six years, and the Optus extension reinforces the league’s position as the preeminent soccer competition in the world. The league has looked to lift its international rights deals to make up for a plateauing in value of its domestic television contracts.
Source: Hollywood
