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Optus Claims It Has Fixed Streaming Issues Experienced During WC

Optus "vowed not to repeat its mistakes and insisted customers would be able to stream the remaining World Cup matches without any dramas," according to Benjamin Graham of NEWS.com.au. The "under-fire" telecom said that the problem with its streaming service affected "less than a quarter of those watching the World Cup games online" and that the complaints "had almost ceased." News.com.au was invited to the Optus Sport broadcast studio in Sydney on Tuesday to watch the "highly anticipated" Australia-Peru match. Optus Head of TV & Content Corin Dimopolous "used the opportunity to stress that the problem had almost been fixed." Dimopolous said, "It's frustrating for us because it's such a small thing and it just gets in the way of the work we are doing. But we are not going to make the same mistake again." Optus "lured the exclusive rights away from SBS" in an A$8M ($5.9M) deal that "put games behind a paywall in Australia for the first time." It was then forced to give up its exclusive broadcast deal last week and "hand cash back to customers." A frustrated member of staff working at the Optus broadcast studio compared the "shambles" to the "sinking of the Titanic." He said, "It was that bad." Even Nine Network's Karl Stefanovic "joined the chorus of outrage, slamming Optus on the Today show." Stefanovic: "Optus is hopeless. If you can't deliver the product you're selling, you go out of business." But the telecom staffer said that "sensationalist" media outlets had made the streaming issues "seem like the end of the world." Former Socceroo Mark Schwarzer was "optimistic" about Optus' streaming future, saying that "the debacle may prove beneficial in the long-run" as the telecom removed the A$15 ($11.08) paywall "to win back" World Cup fans' favor (NEWS.com.au, 6/27).

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