Has the Optus EPL experiment been a failure?

OPTUS paid big bucks to swoop in and get the rights to the EPL. It was supposed to be a coup. It appears to have backfired.

IT’S been more than three months since Optus launched its exclusive streaming service for the English Premier League but has the surprise gamble paid off for the telco?

The national carrier was reported to have spent an estimated $150 million over the coming three years to secure the deal for the broadcasting rights but judging from the early teething issues and customer backlash, the experiment appears to have so far backfired for the company.

Optus gets points for ambition but plenty of EPL fans and Optus customers continue to be unhappy with the situation.

Nor does it appear to have bolstered the customer base of the telco which was the ostensible objective of the move.

According to Optus’ latest financial results released on August 11, just days before the start of the EPL competition, the telco has 1.08 million broadband subscribers. That represents a modest uptick from the 1.07 million reported in the previous quarter.

One of the cheapest and simplest ways a diehard EPL fan could get access to the content is via a $30 per month mobile plan on a 12-month contract plus a $5 a month TV box.

But the latest financial results show the company’s mobile subscriber base fell by 0.5 per cent year-on-year to 9.3 million. However the company said it added 19,000 new postpaid customers in the first quarter of the 2016/17 financial year.

Clearly EPL fans have not flocked to the telco.

Optus won’t release the numbers of subscribers signed up to the EPL package but told news.com.au that interest had exceeded expectations. There has been a “strong demand for services from new and existing customers” resulting in “a solid uplift in customers,” an Optus spokesman said.

Optus shows off details of its English Premier League soccer app which launched on July 4, 2016.

When it was announced Optus had outbid Foxtel for the Premier League rights plenty of fans voiced their discontent. A majority of Foxtel customers are locked into contracts and so even if they wanted to ditch the pay TV service for Optus, they couldn’t.

The app went live on July 4 with the EPL season kicking off in the second week of August — a moment that was meant to mark the end of the hostilities. But there has been plenty of complaints as the streaming service suffers through teething issues.

Among the critics has been senior ABC sports journalist Adam White who has taken to social media a number of times to lament the new EPL regimen in Australia.

“I’m looking forward to watching my Spurs take on Manchester City ... Oh, I forgot, we don’t get EPL games easily accessible on TV anymore,” he tweeted on Monday.

Earlier he compared the EPL coverage to the Indian Twenty20 cricket tournament: “You know it’s happening, you know the scores, it’s just that so few people will get to see the action here,” he wrote.

Sergio Aguero of Manchester City in action during the Barclays Premier League.

Aside from continued anger about having to pay for another expensive subscription to gain access to games, technical issues have also dogged the launch of the streaming service.

Sydney subscriber David Feeney became so incensed by an issue with the Optus app that he complained to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission that Optus had breached the commission’s “false and misleading” provisions.

While the telco advertised that all games are played live, there has been a consistent delay of 45 to 60 seconds which means that Mr Feeney can’t engage with social media or spend time on chatrooms with mates during the game.

“I just want the games to be shown live,” Mr Feeney told The Australian. “It’s completely unacceptable, this is the most popular sport in the world.”

“It just kills the enjoyment ... My friends celebrate the goal that’s just been scored and I won’t see it on my screen for a whole minute,” he said.

“I have to just sit on my own watching the game with no mates and no social media — you can’t talk to anyone during the game. I’m extremely ­frustrated.”

Other complaints have continued to roll in throughout the course of the season including poor picture quality and the fact that the app is occasionally prone to crashing or freezing, which is hardly surprising given the less than stellar broadband infrastructure in Australia.

Optus has acknowledged the performance issues experienced by some customers but says the 60 second delay is unavoidable.

“New platforms used to deliver ‘over-the-top’ video content via broadband and mobile networks have to be digitised to ensure quality and security. This adds additional time on top of the traditional terrestrial and satellite broadcast,” the telco told news.com.au.

“We recognise that individual experiences can vary, particularly over devices, browser interfaces, and networks. We recommend customers experiencing difficulties contact us directly.”

The delay can be annoying for those trying to live bet on the game but 21-year-old student Tawanda Chipamaunga, known as TJ, from Hamilton Queensland says he doesn’t mind about the delay.

He was already an Optus subscriber when the company won the rights and says he has been relatively happy with the service.

“It’s pretty good, there are times when it’s been a bit frustrating and you get an error notice when you try to load games, but that has only happened maybe a couple of times,” he said.

“There’s not much lag, but that’s probably because I have the NBN.”

A lot TJ’s friends were already with Optus and have signed up for the EPL coverage, meaning they get the first season free. But starting from next year they will have to pay an extra $15 a month for the content.

“They like it because it’s cheaper than Foxtel,” he said.

Twitter says "Penalty SPURS". @OptusSport is about 60 seconds behind. Should I stay off social media to get the whole experience? #optusout

— R (@galaxyhero) October 2, 2016

I'd tweet about the #MUNSTK game but I wouldn't want to spoil it for the poor sods still watching it on @OptusSport's stream. #OptusOut

— Preved Medved (@DLKTDR) October 2, 2016

Obviously my @OptusSport stream doesn't work. Pathetic once again. So tired of below mediocre service. #OptusOut

— Daniel Shandler (@dshandler1) October 2, 2016

Another @premierleague match day riddled with angry customers and apologies. How long can this go on? #Optusout

— Bradlee Dugdale (@HIM_Dugdale) October 2, 2016

Another look at @OptusSport's wonderful @premierleague coverage. Picture resolution hovering around 3, with 4 drop outs to date. #OptusOut pic.twitter.com/j8R2zivarl

— Sean Peter-Budge (@SeanPeterBudge) October 2, 2016

CUSTOMERS LOOKING FOR ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS

Disgruntled fans who don’t want to sign up with Optus are looking for alternative solutions to get their EPL fix — including those that exist in a legal grey area.

After Optus announced it had purchased the rights of the British football competition, the owner and operator of a VPN (virtual private network) service called Vanished VPN saw a golden opportunity.

Phil and his team found a way to provide a way to get online access to Star Sports in India to provide streaming of all live games starting at $3 a month for a 12 month subscription.

Prior to the launch of the EPL season Phil predicted that EPL customers would eclipse those using the service to gain access to the US library of Netflix — a prediction he says briefly came true.

“We have seen a big uptake in new customers” since the EPL season began, he said. “Initially this was bigger than Netflix, but as we became the only provider with a working Netflix solution recently, it has swung back towards Netflix,” he told news.com.au.

In preparation for launching the EPL offering, Phil spent a lot of time talking with fans and British expats on football-related forums and says frustration at the new rights deal has been slow to dissipate.

“The feedback that we’ve had from customers is that they are upset and angry at being backed into a corner by Optus. Many of them don’t want to switch to Optus,” he said.

He also claimed to have a number of Optus customers who prefer the option of using his VPN.

What do you think about the Optus EPL streaming service? Keep the conversation going on Twitter: @NWWhigham.

Foxtel which held the EPL rights for 18 seasons is part owned by News Corp, the publisher of news.com.au