Foxtel has struck back at Optus, after losing English Premier League rights to it last year, by signing new deals with six of the competition's biggest teams to broadcast the clubs' own channels.
As revealed by Fairfax Media on Sunday, Foxtel will carry 24-hour channels from Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea with additional programming from Arsenal, Manchester City and Tottenham, from July.
The newly signed deals are part of the pay TV provider's attempt to retain customers who were angry at the loss of EPL rights.
The broadcast of the games will be delayed – matches on Saturday at 3pm London time, which would have shown live in the early hours of Sunday morning, will now be available at 1pm local time.
The deal includes all home and away matches for the listed clubs, as well as pre-season games, old matches, documentaries and extra behind-the-scenes content.
No extra cost
However, the new deal will not include access to all matches of smaller clubs, including newly crowned Premier League champions Leicester City.
The new content will be included in Foxtel's sports package at no extra cost.
The deals will give subscribers access to these six clubs in the EPL, FA Cup and League Cup.
In November, Optus surprised the market by swooping on broadcast rights to the EPL, forking out $189 million over three years, understood to be more than double the $20 million a year Fox Sports now pays.
On Wednesday, Optus revealed its pricing for its EPL coverage – subscriptions will start at $15 per month and it will be free for those on Optus plans costing $85 or more.
However, those wanting to watch the EPL in Australia must have a mobile, broadband or mobile broadband service with Optus – a caveat that sparked fury among many consumers online.
Foxtel also struck a deal with beIN sports to move its three high-definition channels over to the regular sports pack, providing Champions League, Spain's La Liga, Germany's Bundesliga and Italy's Serie A.
Global brands
Foxtel chief executive Peter Tonagh said the additional EPL content would make Foxtel's proposition more compelling and cement it as the home of European football.
"The addition of these dedicated new sports channels is a huge win for English football fans who subscribe to Foxtel," he said. "These channels, along with the recently announced beIN Sports channels, will be compulsory viewing for all fans of international football and will also complement the Fox Sports coverage of the local A-League competition.
"Our new EPL club partners are global brands in their own right and have large groups of dedicated supporters in Australia making up more than 75 per cent of the English football fan base here. Our customers will now have access to commentary, analysis, insight and behind-the-scenes action they've never seen before."
