"Clearly EPL fans are very passionate, we totally understand that, but we are trying to do something here to disrupt the market and we knew and expected that there will always be people that don't like change," Mr White said.

"We are not moving away from the principle that you have to be an Optus customer to get access to exclusive content from us. In the telco market one of our rivals positions itself as having the network, others position themselves around attractive prices ... we are very deliberately trying to stand apart in the market in offering exclusive content to Optus customers."

Rejecting complaints

Mr White rejected the idea that many Australians would be unable to subscribe for a reasonable price, or that problems with internet connections would hamper the quality of its EPL coverage.

He said customers could take up a postpaid offer on a month-to-month basis to avoid breaking contracts with existing suppliers, and believed most households would have at least one mobile contract up for renewal, which could be switched to an eligible Optus plan.

Ben White is currently acting managing director of Optus' marketing and product division, and helped devise the controversial EPL packages. Optus

He also reiterated earlier claims from Optus that its significant investment in its technology infrastructure would mean viewers would be able to rely on receiving broadcast quality coverage. This has included upgrading equipment in exchanges and increasing the capacity of links into the exchanges, and expanding its content delivery network.

Non-Optus customers hoping the telco will relent on its original idea and offer a Netflix-style subscription to EPL for a monthly fee will be left disappointed though, with Mr White saying it would follow a different model.


However, he said there would be an, as yet unreleased, launch offer to be announced prior to the season, and that new package options would likely emerge over time.

"There are lots of different types of content delivery models ... we think ours is another very valid model to put into the market as well alongside pay TV, free-to-air and on-demand like Netflix," he said.

"We are very confident that our EPL offering is going to be far superior to what has been seen in Australia to-date, with not just live games, but much better pre-game, half-time and post-game shows and a host of other programs."

He declined to say whether Optus would be creating EPL shows locally, with local hosts, or taking pre-packaged shows from an overseas supplier.

World Cup coverage

While most attention has focused on Optus' acquisition of EPL coverage, perhaps of wider interest in Australia will be the fact that it has also snared the most comprehensive rights to the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

It will share coverage with SBS, but the majority of the tournament's matches will be exclusively live to Optus customers only.

An SBS spokeswoman said that, if Australia qualifies, it has the rights to show any of its matches. SBS has the rights to one live match per day, four matches from the round of 16, two quarter-finals, both semi-finals and the final, as well as a daily highlights show.

Mr White meanwhile, said he didn't expect the lead-up to its World Cup coverage to be subject to the same amount of fan angst as its EPL announcement.

"Obviously the World Cup is still a couple of years away, and I think the market's understanding of what it is we are offering will be clearer ... and people will have a much greater appreciation for what we are doing at that point in time," Mr White said.

"We will also have a road map of the way that we are going to offer content over time, so we could be in a very different world by the time we get to the next World Cup in 2018."