Optus’ vice-president of product development,content and TV,Clive Dickens,said such fragmentation is not necessarily bad for consumers. “Having everything in one place has proven to be an unsustainable model,” he said.
”The value you get from these products...whether it’s Disney+ or Paramount+ or Stan - all of the operators have kept their price point in an individually affordable way,opposed to what some Australian households were paying in aggregate five or 10 years ago.
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“I still think there’s a bit of elasticity in the market but what really needs to happen is we need to provide a better service for consumers to understand where everything is and how they can see value. As the market fragments more,there’s more opportunity to help simplify the market.”
Stan’s deal with UEFA comes after incumbent rights holder Optus Sport - and the rest of the broadcast industry -was gazumped by a shock $60 million bid tabled by Sports Flick.
Sports Flick later withdrew its bid citing the uncertainty caused by the European Super League controversy over the format of the Champions League. But sources,who were not authorised to speak publicly,say it was actually due to an inability to obtain bank guarantees to close the deal.
Stan,which had tabled the second-highest bid behind Sports Flick,subsequently entered talks with UEFA once the proposal fell over. Industry sources familiar with the terms of the deal said Stan’s offer was significantly less than the $60 million deal proposed by SportsFlick.
Stan has not made a decision on whether it will broadcast the UEFA Champions League qualifiers,which will mark the start of former Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou’s journey with Scottish giants Celtic.
The UEFA Champions League is unlikely to be the only football competition that Stan will bid for. Football and television sources,who are not authorised to speak publicly,said Stan is interested in a range of other competitions including Italy’s Serie A and the English Premier League,which comes up for renegotiation next year.
Stan’s acting chief executive Martin Kugeler said securing a deal with UEFA underscored the streaming service’s commitment to premium sport.Stan said it had 2.3 million active subscribers in early May,adding that about 150,000 subscribers watched Stan Sport.
Stan has been pushing into sport at the same time it has been lookingto reduce its dependence on Hollywood studios and differentiate itself from other streaming services locally.
There are now five streaming players that own sports broadcasting rights in Australia:Foxtel’s Kayo Sports,Amazon Prime Video,soon-to-launch Paramount+,Optus Sport and Stan.
Guy-Laurent Epstein,UEFA’s marketing director,welcomed the deal. “Stan has strong ambitions in the world of sport,and as a sports-loving nation,Australian football fans will benefit from Stan’s world class broadcast and production capabilities throughout the 2021-24 cycle,” Mr Epstein said.
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