Australia eeked out a 1-1 tie with Denmark at the 2018 FIFA World Cup this morning, keeping alive the Socceroos' hopes of advancing out of the group stage. But while the squad has been battling on the field in Russia, a different bit of World Cup drama has been playing out back in Australia.
Australian telecom company Optus purchased the local broadcast rights for most of this year's World Cup games,
but technical issues with the company's live streaming has caused major backlash. Issues included poor video quality--or no video at all--and left thousands of Australian fans with no means of watching the games.
The problem was so severe that Optus allowed the free-to-air SBS network to televise matches for 48 hours while the company attempted to remedy the situation. Then, rather than risk additional outrage, Optus decided to allow SBS to continue broadcasting until the group stage concludes on June 29.
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull even took the
unusual step of contacting Optus chief executive Allen Lew to ask for assurances that there would be no more issues.
“There’s no doubt this has adversely affected the Optus brand,” Lew said. “Everybody is very disappointed, to put it mildly.”