Optus CEO Allen Lew rejected claims that the telecom "undercooked its exclusive FIFA World Cup 2018 coverage," saying that the Optus Sport app "had undergone robust testing to meet with customer demand," according to Supratim Adhikari of THE AUSTRALIAN. Lew: "It was not demand-related, we had tested the network for demand and the problem we had was isolated and a failure in our system with regards to a compatibility issue. Other than that one specific weekend where we had a problem, the platform performed really well for the rest of the tournament, when we had a lot more traffic." The Optus Sport app "ran into trouble from the opening bell," with many viewers signed up to see the second match of the tournament, between Egypt and Uruguay, "stuck with frozen screens." Lew said that the financial cost of sub-licensing the World Cup from SBS, believed to be around the A$10M ($7.43M) mark, "would not dent" Optus' books. He added that the decision to give games back to SBS "was not dictated by a lack of confidence" in the Optus Sport app. Lew: "We have a bottom line that can withstand the financial impact and the most important thing for us that we put the needs of the public first, especially after we didn’t perform to our and the public’s expectation on that first weekend." Optus is still focused on expanding its portfolio of football content, having picked up exclusive Australian broadcast rights to the Champions League, Europa League and Super Cup for the next three years. Lew "ruled out chasing other properties" such as the Australian Football League, National Rugby League or U.S. sports such as the NFL and NBA "for the time being," saying that Optus would be "disciplined in its pursuit." He said, "I don't think we want to be the go-to sports channel for all Australians because to do that we will have to spend a lot of money, so we have to be focused" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 8/9).
