Lads, I just started a new job at Optus and even the employees are confused how this is going to work.
In the last 3 weeks alone we've had 2 'amendments' to the policy so I doubt that the setup in place now will be the final one.
Try not to stress too much as we have until August for the new season. The moment I hear of anything new I will pass it on immediately.
The most recent update now from catching up on it all is that BeIN sports is now available on Fetch TV for a fee of $14.95 a month, therefore meaning that everything new to Foxtel has acquired in response to losing the rights is also available with Optus (minus the specific club channels but that doesn't include EvertonTV anyway).
However, to gain FREE access to EPL you will need one of the following 24 month plans:
- Postpaid mobile plan totaling $85 or more a month
- Postpaid home broadband totaling $80 or more a month
- Postpaid mobile broadband totaling $90 a month
There are other, cheaper plans available but will require a further $15 a month payment to gain access. The general rule is that it MUST be a postpaid plan more than $80.
EPL streaming does not count towards data usage.
NOTE: The quality of the access will vary depending on the quality of the router you use at home. If you choose to go with streaming to a phone, tablet or your tv via wifi, it may not be in full HD. It's recommended that you hard wire from the modem, or acquire a Fetch TV set top box, which can include other channels such as BBC Knowledge, UKTV, etc to keep the wife/girlfriend happy.
This is far from ideal, and I'm yet to suss out if you have an eligible postpaid mobile plan, if you can get EPL onto your TV. Shall let you all know when I do.
I genuinely think that Optus didn't anticipate winning the rights in the first place and have now hit the panic button trying to get all this sorted.