Same could be said about accesss to all things NRL. Yes I get the channel 9 games but unless I’m a Telstra mobile customer I don’t get access I’d like. I miss most games but there’s nothing I can do unless I change telephone contracts.
I wasn’t keen on Optus getting the EPL when I had Foxtel for the exact reason you are unhappy about so I get it.
Unfortunately it’s the way most big sports will end up mate.
That's not really the same though, Telstra mobile is just a small extension of the NRL broadcast coverage. You don't have to strictly be a Telstra customer to watch all NRL games, but you do need to be strictly an Optus customer to watch all EPL games.
I'm not sure big sports will exactly end up that way. Sure they could end up in the hands of the streaming giants but at least it wouldn't mean the lock out of swathes of a population because they were unlucky enough to have the wrong mobile phone contract.
I'm an Optus customer with the EPL subscription, and after having it for two seasons I get how easy it is to say that Optus actually hasn't been that bad, but you've got all these people not in our situation who have thought, 'well f**k, is cancelling my Telstra broadband and mobile subscriptions really worth the hassle just for EPL?'