The 1m+ subscribers to Optus Sport have just enjoyed their first weekend in the new 2022/23 Premier League season.
The first 10 matches were part of the first year of the new Premier League rights agreement the telco announced last November.
And what a deal it was. The renewal locked in Optus Sport’s Premier League rights for six years until 2028, and Barclays FA Women’s Super League until after the FIFA Women’s World Cup into 2024.
The best football teams in England started their new season a little earlier as the teams will take a break for the 2022 World Cup. The season will play a full round of games on Saturday November 12. Matches will then restart on Boxing Day this year.
The Premier League’s chief executive Richard Masters has told The Times he would not rule out selling all the international TV rights to a single broadcaster in the future.
Masters explained a broadcaster or streaming platform would need to commit around $3.5b a year as the Premier League currently earns around $3b annually via its model of selling to individual overseas broadcasters.
The boss of one of the best-managed sporting codes in the world noted it’s not a change that would happen quickly. Optus is one of its international broadcast partners that has an existing deal that runs until the end of the 2027/28 season.
But with Amazon paying over $1b annually for Thursday night NFL football alone, and BT Sport and Warner Bros Discovery pushing ahead with a JV in Britain and Ireland, the sort of money the Premier League would be hoping for could be in reach.
Optus Sport subscribers saw Manchester United defeated by Brighton on Sunday. Source: Optus Sport
Premier League impact on AFL/NRL rights
The Premier League is a special case where a single country football tournament can command big dollars because of the passionate following the game has internationally.
Australia’s major football codes command modest followings overseas, however the big dollars being paid for rights internationally won’t hurt the premier Australian sporting codes as they go to market.
It has been much discussed that the outgoing AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan will want a new deal before he departs the organisation.
It would be an upset of epic proportions if Seven and Foxtel didn’t retain their place as FTA and STV broadcasters for the next deal.
Nothing has changed much since McLachlan told Mediaweek back in March: “The relationship with Foxtel certainly works for us and the partnerships we have with Seven and Foxtel/Kayo mean we couldn’t be happier. We have all games live with Foxtel and we have a great distribution deal with Seven. They are both long-term committed partners.”
Seven and Foxtel of course are also cricket broadcast partners. Although there have been some problems with the deal, both seem set to benefit from the renewed interest in the sport powered by the Australian women winning Gold overnight, and the revitalised BBL with the best cricketers in the world from here and elsewhere signing up.
For someone to break-up those cosy relationships would take a mountain of money. The new partner would also have to convince the codes they could mount a coverage equal to or better than existing rights holders.
When it comes to potential new rights customers Paramount+ is usually mentioned. The recently merged Warner Bros Discovery giant is an unknown quantity in this part of the world. It has delayed launching the Discovery+ streaming platform here as it plans its strategy in Australia and New Zealand. And it hasn’t revealed much detail about any appetite for sports rights.
After detailing its first-ever quarter results last week, Warner Bros Discovery looks as enticing to investors as Netflix at present. Australian sports rights may not be a priority, yet.
Top photo: Manchester City celebrate their 2021/22 Premier League win. Source: Premier League