Optus has expanded its football footprint by securing broadcasting rights to the European and US legs of the top pre-season tournament. In a separate move, the telco has called upon Vinnie Jones to issue a 'frank' message to disgruntled fans.
The International Champions Cup will be shown from 22 July and will serve as a football appetiser to English Premier League (EPL) coverage on Optus Sport. It is only accessible to Optus customers who have an EPL eligible plan, which is now more affordable than previously if you become an Optus customer.
Whether adding a European pre-season tournament to the mix sways fans into ripping up existing mobile or broadband contracts to switch over remains to be seen.
Watched by more than one million fans at stadiums worldwide, the competition features some of Europe's top clubs. This includes Premier League giants Liverpool, winners Leicester City and mid-table club Chelsea; La Liga's Barcelona and Real Madrid; Italy's Inter Milan and AC Milan; League 1 winners Paris Saint-German, and more.
Optus will exclusively broadcast 15 matches from the US and Europe legs, and will also show the China leg, which is also being shown by Nine. Nine has exclusive rights to the games held in Australia.
Meanwhile, Optus released a new digital ad to promote the Premier League, featuring former Wimbledon crazy gang bad boy turned actor Jones.
The star of Mean Machine, Jones was also the midfield enforcer in one of football's great heists - beating Liverpool to win the 1988 FA Cup.
Uncle Vinnie, is "earing all the palava around the Premier League all the way over in Blighty", and wants fans to know one thing.
The creative was done by Emotive.
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