Optus has unveiled pricing for its English Premier League coverage with subscriptions starting at $15 per month and free for those on plans costing $85 or more.
The EPL will only be available to Optus customers, but the telco revealed that streaming the world's most popular football league will not be counted towards customers mobile or data plans.
Optus said that new and existing customers on postpaid mobile, mobile broadband and home broadband bundles can watch the EPL from as little as $15 per month.
Optus also announced a mini set-top box, or puck, much like Apple TV, by its pay TV partner Fetch that customers can use to watch the EPL, as well as Fetch's entertainment package on a larger screen. This is available to broadband subscribers of any service provider, however, they must have at least one Optus subscription, be that postpaid mobile or mobile broadband.
EPL will also be available on Optus TV with Fetch's personal video recorder set-top box – this is only available to Optus broadband subscribers.
Optus will also have a satellite option for customers which will incur a $250 installation fee and will cost $20 per month to watch the EPL – however customer must again have an Optus plan.
As revealed by Fairfax Media in February, Optus will offer a direct-to-consumer streaming service through a website as well as an app for mobile devices.
In November last year, Optus surprised the market by swooping on the rights to the EPL, agreeing to pay $63 million annually, which is understood to be more than double the $20 million a year that Fox Sports in paying now.
Foxtel has responded to losing the rights to the EPL by boosting its own football coverage, adding beIN Sports to its regular sports pack, which includes Spain's La Liga, Germany's Bundesliga and Italy's Serie A.
Fairfax Media revealed that Foxtel is also trying to strike deals with major Premier League clubs, such as Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea, to host the channels that the clubs run themselves.
The EPL will also appear on free-to-air television from next season, with Optus inking a deal with SBS to broadcast one match per week for the next three seasons. The telco also signed an agreement with SBS to broadcast FIFA events, including the 2018 men's World Cup and 2019 women's World Cup.
Optus marketing and product managing director Ben White said he was confident that people would see the EPL and switch to Optus products.
"While you'll need to be an Optus customer to get all the EPL action, Optus research shows that close to two in three (63 per cent) football fans, who are not already Optus customers, are out of contract for at least one of their fixed broadband or mobile services," Mr White said.
"We're confident that when these fans see our range of great value EPL-ready plans, they'll be convinced that now's the right time to switch. And for those not quite ready to make that extra commitment, we also have a great postpaid BYO mobile plan that will provide access to the EPL."
