Optus makes massive call to give SBS rights to all World Cup games

OPTUS has made an extreme decision over its World Cup broadcast rights in a huge free-kick for SBS and fans.

OPTUS has dramatically given SBS the rights to every remaining 2018 World Cup game.

The telco made the decision to allow the World Cup to remain on free to air TV just a week after it handed SBS the group stage matches.

The latest decision comes as a major blow for the telco, which lured the exclusive rights away from SBS in an $8 million deal that saw games behind a paywall in Australia for the first time. SBS only held onto rights to broadcast 25 of the 64 World Cup games.

But now SBS has been handed back the rights, reportedly free of charge.

SBS chief executive Michael Ebeid confirmed the huge coup for his network.

“We’re pleased to be able to simulcast more of the 2018 FIFA World Cup matches with Optus. With eight million Australians tuning into SBS’s coverage to date, we know how passionate the country is about the world game and are confident fans will continue to engage with the matches as we head towards the end of the competition in Russia.”

Football fans were furious at Optus when the streaming service failed and they were met with a “playback error” message instead of the World Cup action.

It prompted Optus chief executive Allen Lew to return all group stage games to free-to-air TV while the telco worked to fix the technical problems experienced by the streaming service.

Mr Lew admitted the company made a huge gamble when it secured the rights and claimed its World Cup disaster had not blunted its determination to continue plans to stream more live content, including sport.

“All of us at Optus will use what we have learned from this experience to place ourselves ahead in the delivery of content to customers via streaming to their mobile devices,” he said.

No deal.

Mr Lew declared last week no decision had been made about the company’s decision to retain its exclusive rights to some of the round of 16 and quarter-final matches and declared Optus would only deny SBS the rights if he was certain the streaming service would operate without any problems.

It appears he has decided the Optus Sport streaming service and app — which was dramatically made available to all Australians for free until September 1 — was not up to dealing with the streaming demands of a massive World Cup audience.

The company is expected to comment on the decision at a press conference from 5pm (AEST).

It is a significant backflip from Optus, after Mr Lew declared last week the company would actively chase the broadcast rights for other sporting events in the future, despite its World Cup nightmare.

Optus agreed last week to let SBS show all remaining World Cup pool games, having received a series of complaints about the quality of its streaming service on the weekend.

The costly PR disaster has not clouded Mr Lew’s vision of his company being a “premium mobile network with premium sports content”.

“We are very much on the road to achieving that ... our strategy remains robust. Our product remains robust,” Mr Lew said.

“Definitely not,” he added, when asked if the recent saga would make Optus less likely to bid for future sports broadcasting rights.

SBS gets to say hello to the entire World Cup.

Competitor Telstra gives its customers access to live AFL, NRL and Super Netball games on mobile phones.

Optus Sport already has English Premier League (EPL) rights. There are reports they could also soon be streaming Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A and European Champions League matches.

Optus is locked in to show the 2019 women’s World Cup in France. That event could attract plenty of viewers, especially if Australia progress deep into the tournament as expected.

Optus has also refunded customers who spent $15 to access its World Cup coverage.

Football commentators reacted with mixeed emotions to the Optus decision, praising the telco for its gesture, while simultaneously stunned at the costly failure.

I do feel bad for Optus and Allen Lew who took a massive and expensive punt on paying for football rights. But this is the right decision for consumers - Optus should be applauded for putting them first.

— Mitchell Bingemann (@Mitch_Hell) June 28, 2018

I almost feel sorry for Optus, giving up the rest of their $8m stake in the World Cup... then I remember that I can't watch Premier League at home any more and I feel less empathy. https://t.co/ILIo8nslGr

— Jen Dudley-Nicholson (@jendudley) June 28, 2018

Ginormous muck up by Optus. A flagship part of their attempt to break into Australian sports broadcasting and they've basically had to hand it back to SBS on a platter. https://t.co/JpC0NCbgKc

— Ed Jackson (@edjacko) June 28, 2018

Optus giving SBS the rest of the world cup was the only sensible move to make ... great for fans and gives Optus a chance to practice getting it right for next time, without risking any further brand damage.

— Paul Smith (@SaysSmithy) June 28, 2018

— with AAP