As the title says, it’s just three days into the FIFA World Cup, and Optus Sport’s broadcast of the cup in Australia is an absolute disgrace. Plagued by technical issues and a service that just isn’t good enough, Australian football fans have had enough.
It’s bad enough that the rights for the English Premier League were lost from an actual broadcaster and went to Optus. Now, the rights to most of the FIFA World Cup have similarly been granted to a company that simply isn’t up to the task of delivering.
At Ausdroid, we try to be fairly even and balanced, but it’s time to call this debacle for what it is.
Optus Sport should never have been granted the rights to broadcast the FIFA World Cup
Australian Football fans deserve better than the dreadful service Optus has offered.
Optus Sport’s appalling service failed to start streaming for many users, not allowing them even a glimpse of gameplay before it failed. For many others, streaming started and then stopped, buffering and ultimately failing two nights in a row. Those ‘tuning in’ last night to watch Australia take on France were treated to a streaming service that was completely unfit for purpose, meaning that they either missed out entirely, or had to watch some other way, wasting their paid Optus Sport subscription which couldn’t be used.
So bad was Optus Sport’s service on Friday that I went out and bought an indoor Digital TV antenna so that we could watch the football on free-to-air television, because Optus’ service just could not deliver. Curious to see whether I’d wasted my time, I tried Optus Sport’s streaming last night of Australia vs France, and within minutes it failed. Again.
How to get your money back
If, like me, you’ve had enough, there’s a few steps you can follow:
- Depending on when you subscribed, you may be able to obtain a refund through the Google Play Store.
- If you can’t, log a support request on the Optus Sport website and explain why you’re asking for a refund.
If you don’t have success, you can tell Optus you’ll raise their complete ineptitude with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. As per the ACCC’s guidelines on consumer guarantees, all services must “be fit for the purpose or give the results that you and the business had agreed to”. It’s pretty clear Optus isn’t able to deliver on that.
Please let us know your experience with Optus Sport. Has it been working well for you, or is it a complete joke?
