One of Australia’s largest telecommunications companies, Optus, has partnered with YouTube and Twitter to offer a selection of livestreamed UEFA Champions League and Europa League football matches to fans across the country.
The new partnership will broadcast ten matches across Optus Sport’s social media platforms between February and April, with four Champions League matches and six Europa League ties being shown live on YouTube.
Corin Dimopoulos, head of TV and content at Opus, celebrated the new partnership deal: “These exciting collaborations with YouTube and Twitter mark a major opportunity to leverage the world’s biggest international club competitions and amplify our incredible live programming of these tournaments.
“Optus Sport is illustrating continued innovation by opening our Optus Sport broadcasts through our YouTube and Twitter channels.
“We will continue to showcase our exceptional live productions and at-ground presence which we have successfully delivered since securing the rights of these two competitions this season.”
The project will kick off with the first leg of the Tottenham Hotspur – Borussia Dortmund clash in the final 16 of the Champions League. Other featured matches are set to include the Real Madrid versus Ajax fixture, as well as the two quarter-final matches.
“[Soccer] is one of the biggest drivers of conversation on Twitter in Australia, so we’re excited to collaborate with Optus Sport to bring these live matches from the Uefa Europa League to Twitter,” said Olly Wilton, Twitter Australia’s head of sports partnerships.
“Passionate football fans will need to look no further than Optus Sport and Twitter to keep up to date with what is happening during the knockout phase.”
Meanwhile. YouTube Australia’s sports partnership lead, Andrew Peterson, added: “Over the past six months, Optus Sport has done a fantastic job establishing its YouTube channel as the home for European football highlights.
“We’re thrilled to be working with the team at Optus to continue evolving their strategy and to bring selected live Uefa Champions League games to Aussie audiences on YouTube for the first time.”
InsiderInsight: This new partnership, which will broadcast the European tournament in Australia, will surely help grow the reach of the sport to fans all across the world, and by extension, improve accessibility to the sport. It will, without a doubt, help grow the tournament’s fan base organically.