Roy Morgan Research
May 04, 2018

Optus subscriber growth powered by EPL coverage

Topic: Press Release
Finding No: 7582
RMR Logo

More Australians than three years ago are using Optus fixed broadband and mobile phone services following Optus’ purchase of the Australian coverage rights for the English Premier League.

Optus signed a three year broadcast deal for the Australian rights to the English Premier League in late 2015 for $63 million per year and has this week renewed the deal for a further three years. The good news for Optus is that the deal has been successful in driving subscriber growth for both Optus mobile phone and fixed broadband services.

New research from Roy Morgan shows 20.9% of Australians use Optus as their main mobile phone service provider in the year to March 2018, up 1.1% from three years ago. For Australians who watch the English Premier League either regularly or occasionally on TV the jump has been more pronounced, up 4% to 23.8%.

There has been a similar impact for Australians who use Optus as their fixed broadband service provider. Now 12.2% of Australians use Optus as their fixed broadband service provider, up 2.9% from three years ago. Australians who watch the English Premier League either regularly or occasionally have driven this growth with 15.5% now using Optus fixed broadband, up 4.7% on three years ago.

% have Optus as Service Provider for Main Mobile Phone & Fixed Broadband – 2015 v 2018

Source: Roy Morgan Single Source. April 2014 – March 2015, n = 15,913 Australians 14+ including 1,161 who almost always or occasionally watch English Premier League on TV and April 2017 – March 2018, n = 15,067 Australians 14+ including 1,122 who almost always or occasionally watch English Premier League on TV.

Michele Levine, CEO, Roy Morgan, says the stunning decision by Optus to purchase the Australian coverage rights to the English Premier League (EPL) has paid off:

Block Quote

“Telecommunications company Optus took a huge gamble nearly three years ago by purchasing the Australian coverage rights to the English Premier League (EPL) for $63 million per year. However, the latest research from Roy Morgan shows viewers of the EPL have definitively boosted Optus subscriber growth for both fixed broadband and mobile services over the past three years.

“Those who watch the EPL either regularly or occasionally have switched to Optus at a greater rate for both fixed broadband services and mobile phone services.

“Usage of Optus as the main mobile phone service provider has increased by 4% for EPL viewers compared to 1.1% for all Australians in the last three years. Similarly for fixed broadband providers usage of Optus has increased by 4.7% for EPL viewers compared to 2.9% for all Australians.”

For comments or more information please contact:
Roy Morgan - Enquiries
Office: +61 (03) 9224 5309
askroymorgan@roymorgan.com

Margin of Error

The margin of error to be allowed for in any estimate depends mainly on the number of interviews on which it is based. Margin of error gives indications of the likely range within which estimates would be 95% likely to fall, expressed as the number of percentage points above or below the actual estimate. Allowance for design effects (such as stratification and weighting) should be made as appropriate.

Sample Size Percentage Estimate
40% – 60% 25% or 75% 10% or 90% 5% or 95%
1,000 ±3.0 ±2.7 ±1.9 ±1.3
5,000 ±1.4 ±1.2 ±0.8 ±0.6
7,500 ±1.1 ±1.0 ±0.7 ±0.5
10,000 ±1.0 ±0.9 ±0.6 ±0.4
20,000 ±0.7 ±0.6 ±0.4 ±0.3
50,000 ±0.4 ±0.4 ±0.3 ±0.2

Related Findings

Back to topBack To Top Arrow