We may have had a major shift in how we consume television this year with the arrival of Netflix and Stan, but the biggest change is yet to happen as live sports goes digital.
That change just got sped up in a big way today, with Optus successfully acquiring the broadcast rights for the English Premier League from Fox Sports.
Commencing in August 2016, Optus now has the exclusive rights for both "live broadcast coverage and digital rights for broadband and mobile" for the next three seasons of the Barclays EPL.
Mobile Gooooooaaaaaaaaaallllllllll!
Optus is yet to unveil exactly how customers will be able to watch the EPL next year. But one of the interesting aspects of its announcement is that it is moving towards becoming a "mobile-led multimedia company".
Having a solid focus on mobile and broadband streaming of the sport (likely through the company's partnership with Fetch TV) means a fairly drastic change in how sport will be consumed in Australia.
Without a traditional broadcast platform of its own, that focus on mobile takes extra significance. There is a chance that Optus will on-sell the rights to a more traditional broadcaster, but in today's on demand entertainment environment, it seems obvious that the focus for Optus will be in digital delivery.
- One place we're confident you won't see the EPL is on the new Telstra TV
