Optus shows Australian Open 2009 live on its mobiles - free

Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Monday, 19 January 2009 11:02

IT Industry - Strategy

Free live streaming of the Seven Network’s Australian Open 2009 tennis is being offered to Optus 3G mobile subscribers, except those using the iPhone, with plenty of other video content and news as part of the package.

Telstra did a deal with Seven Network to stream the Olympics to its customers, and now Optus is striking back with its own deal to stream the first grand slam of the year.

It’s a shame these kinds of deals aren’t available to all mobile phone users, but limited to those of a particular carrier, but that’s the way the competitive world works, and even though we live in a world of instant gratification, you can’t have everything.

Sadly, thanks to the limitations of low bandwidth streaming technology, that also includes the ultra smooth video quality you’d see on regular TV screens.

After all, a small yellow ball whizzing across the screen might be hard for the Real Player video codec to handle, so hopefully those with an Optus 3G phone that take advantage of the free service actual enjoy using it and can see some of the action beyond fast moving blurs.

Optus itself has no doubts, with its General Manager of Content and Portals, Mark Mulder, saying: “We are very excited to launch this unique and innovative service for our customers. When Optus 3G mobile customers are out and about, they will now feel like they are courtside via their mobile.

“Customers are increasingly using their mobile to stay up-to-date with sports, news and finance.  Live streaming the Australian Open is another example of Optus offering leading technology and rich content for its customers. 

“As well as the live streaming of Seven’s coverage, Optus customers can access video highlights,  Coach Roche video tips, player profiles and news, schedule of play, results, tournament information and downloads including wallpapers and mobile games.

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