
I spent the best part of a decade living in London right by Stamford Bridge. Many Saturday afternoons were spent watching Chelsea play at home – I remember the first time I set foot in the stadium, the atmosphere was so electrifying, I became a proud fan there and then. Fast forward 10 years and I’m back in Australia, eagerly waiting for the 2016/17 Premier League season to start. This year I’m more excited than ever because Optus is bringing us Premier League fans a sensational and unique way of watching all the action.
To my delight, Optus will be delivering the Premier League via the internet; this is going to be amazing because it’ll give you more choice and flexibility on where, when and how you watch the Premier League than ever before. There’s going to be a 24/7 channel that is 100% dedicated to the Premier League featuring:
- All 380 games live
- Pre, during and post-match in-depth analysis from renowned football presenters and world-class pundits including Andy Townsend, Ian Wright and Manish Bhasin
- Daily Football Today programme providing a comprehensive football magazine, chat and analysis show
- Two daily news shows delivering the latest new stories and action from the Premier League
- Brand new Fantasy Premier League show, where presenter James Richardson shares all the latest information, tips and predictions on the Fantasy League
- Two daily International Fans shows where fans can call/Skype/tweet the studio to ask questions, share their thoughts and comments and send in fan images and videos
Some of this content has never been seen by Premier League fans in Australia before so this is great news for those like me who love the beautiful game.
As well as the top-quality content on our 24/7 channel, this Premier League season will be special because you’ll be able to catch all 380 games live, there’s a dedicated Premier League app and website, plus you can watch the action on multiple devices. Some of my favourite features include the ‘one click to live’ functionality which means you’re only one click away from watching a live game and the spoiler alert feature that hides match scores if you want to watch the game on demand without knowing the result. There’s also no need to record matches anymore because most games will be available to watch on demand a minute after they finish. And what’s more, you can get the 2016/17 Premier League season for free if you join the Optus network on selected plans before 22nd August. Oh and don’t forget that the Premier League content is data-free on selected Optus plans so you won’t drain data*.
If you’re still undecided, I encourage you to download the dedicated app – it’s easy to do and once you’re in, have a play around and look at the quality of the content and functionality, I guarantee you’ll be impressed. If you don’t have an existing service with us, don’t worry, there are options for you. If you’re locked into a broadband contract with another provider, you can take a post-paid mobile service with us and for an extra $5/month you can get our Yes TV by Fetch Mini set-top box (works over any home broadband internet connection) and get the 2016/17 Premier League season for free if you join before 22nd August**.
Alternatively, if you’re waiting for a new handset to come out before choosing a mobile service, we have month-to-month plans that will allow you to start watching the Premier League straight away – you can then upgrade the plan when your new phone arrives. Lastly, I suggest speaking to your friends who already have the service to see what they think or start a discussion on Yes Crowd to see other members’ opinions. As a football fan myself, I’m very proud of what we’ve created and I know Premier League supporters are going to love it.
As a little teaser before the Premier League kicks off, Optus will be broadcasting 18 International Champions Cup games, where some of Europe’s biggest clubs battle it out in pre-season matches. The game I’m most excited about is Barcelona vs Leicester but it’ll also be interesting to see the team Pep Guardiola rolls out in the Manchester derby match (Manchester United vs Manchester City) too! We’ll also be broadcasting a pre-season match between West Ham United v Juventus, live from The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Stadium on Sunday 7th August 2016 at 10pm AEST.
Now back to the Premier League and the upcoming season - after witnessing Leicester’s stunning victory last year, who knows what’s going to happen this season? Personally, I can’t wait to see what Pep Guardiola does at City and how José Mourinho goes at United. There’s a tremendous amount of talent in the Premier League both on and off the pitch so it’ll be fascinating to see how it plays out. As a Chelsea fan I’m also hoping that we’ll do better than last season!
I’d love to hear your predications for the coming season, favourite footballing momentsas well as anything you’re particularly excited about. Just leave any thoughts or questions in the comments below.
*Advertisements, analytics and authentication use data and may incur data charges
** Min total cost is $420 over 12 months for $30 SIM Only mobile plan and Yes TV by Fetch Mini
***For anyone wondering, mine is Maradona’s ‘goal of the century’ against England in the 1986 World Cup!
Ts & Cs
Personal viewing in Oz only. Premier League: 2016/17 EPL subscription on mobile plans from $30/,mth (Min cost $360 over 12 months). From 31/07/17 EPL is $15/mth on selected plans, cancel EPL anytime without charge. Yes TV by Fetch Mini: requires an active fixed broadband Internet connection and a download speed of at least 3Mbps, a widescreen TV and an external antenna connection. Data charges will apply from your internet service provider. You cannot use your mobile data to watch content from the Yes TV by Fetch Mini. If mobile service is cancelled Yes TV by Fetch Mini service will also be cancelled. If the Yes TV by Fetch Mini service is cancelled you must return the device to Optus or charges will apply. Visit http://www.optus.com.au/.