Nine Entertainment, through its streaming platform Stan, has acquired key assets from Optus Sport, including media rights, subscriber agreements and social media assets.
This strategic move, effective August 1st, will see the highly coveted media rights for the Premier League and the Emirates FA Cup transfer to Stan Sport, with both agreements running through to the conclusion of their 2027/2028 seasons.
The deal involves an upfront payment of $20 million from Stan to Optus Sport, alongside a contribution towards the initial payment for the next Premier League rights cycle. Importantly, Optus will also make periodic contributions to Nine until 2028. Nine anticipates this acquisition will be financially beneficial, projecting it to be both EBITDA (estimated in the low single-digit millions of dollars) and cash positive for Stan over the remaining terms of the media rights agreements.
This acquisition is set to dramatically enhance Stan Sport’s football offering, building upon its existing portfolio of UEFA club competitions. The addition of the Premier League and Emirates FA Cup provides compelling content for Australia’s estimated 6 million football fans , further solidifying Stan Sport’s position alongside its current premium sports coverage in Rugby, Tennis, Motorsport, and Combat Sports.
Stan says more than half of Optus Sport’s subscribers are currently not Stan subscribers. Optus Sport subscribers will maintain access to Premier League and Emirates FA Cup content through Stan Sport, with various offers tailored to subscriber eligibility. Furthermore, Optus telecommunications customers who do not currently subscribe to Stan will generally be entitled to the Optus Sports content at their current monthly subscription rates for the new season.
