How German company Onefootball is succeeding in the OTT streaming landscape

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Following the growth of on-demand content and ever-increasing consumer choices, broadcasters are now becoming unable to dictate what will be shown to their audiences and at what times.

In today’s world, through viewing habits and data from user accounts, it is actually the opposite.

It is now up to those broadcasters to analyse this data and provide an attractive package at the right price to bring in the consumer.

Founded in 2008, Onefootball is one of Europe’s leaders in regards to investing in and recognising this trend.

This includes strategic decisions the company has made securing deals with Sky Deutschland and Eleven Sports. This allows them to show matches from multiple leagues around the world, through a pay-per-view, live streaming partnership.

Live matches can be streamed through their official app, including games from the 2. Bundesliga and the DFB-Pokal. Onefootball gives their growing young audience an attractive yet simple proposition: the opportunity to choose the games they want to watch.

Their model also allows consumers to sign up to a shorter and more convenient payment plan, instead of a costly long-term subscription.

“It’s our response to the ever-changing media landscape characterised by rights fragmentation and expensive subscription models,” said Onefootball CEO, Lucas von Cranach after the announcement of his company’s partnership with Sky Deutschland and Eleven Sports.

Von Cranach added: “Modern football fans want to consume live content in a more flexible, easily accessible way. They want to consume it when they want, where they want and how they want – and all of this at a reasonable price.”

Onefootball may have taken inspiration from NBA’s juggernaut streaming service League Pass, which also allows fans to pick and choose content that suits them. This promotes growth in engagement for the sport as a whole, whilst strengthening direct-to-fan relationships.

Despite this, different sports and services will not thrive if they are all identical. To have a successful OTT streaming service, differing needs have to be addressed.

These needs will likely change over time as Von Cranach explains.

“The industry needs to adapt to the evolving consumer behaviour. It’s about understanding and anticipating the highly sophisticated needs of younger generations – that’s the key” (as posted in FC Business).

Onefootball is driven by Sportradar OTT. Sportradar is a company founded in Norway, that collects and analyses sports data. Therefore, Onefootball can access these insights from the data collected and ensure an improved experience for users through gamifications aspects and overlays.

For example, statistical overlays can be implemented to highlight information that will complement footage of a match. Gamifications such as polls and quizzes will look to keep viewers engaged to the platform for a longer duration.

The rights holder is also informed about how to showcase their digital ecosystem in the best financially rewarding way.

When you combine all these factors and other insights which are taken from user data, you have the ingredients for a successful OTT service.

With regards to these OTT services, the ability to tweak your output and monetisation methods, based on viewer habits, is already a proven game changer.

Whilst linear broadcasts do still have a place in media consumption in the modern world, it lacks the insights and clarity you get through OTT.

Whether focusing on how content has fared or finding the best way to monetise it, OTT services provide rights holders with much needed guidance in their video strategy.

This is a win for the content producers who see what consumers want and how they should make it profitable. The user also benefits, as their viewing is influencing the content they are seeing.

Onefootball look like they are set to reap the rewards of listening to the market as they continue to head in the direction of effectively using audience data.

Their fan-focused strategy highlights why they are viewed as one of the most advanced players in the industry, with their affiliation with Sportradar OTT providing the foundations for this continued growth.

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South Melbourne Hellas Strengthens Its Future with Three Key Board Appointments

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Image Credit: South Melbourne FC
South Melbourne Hellas has taken another significant step in shaping its future, announcing the appointment of three highly accomplished professionals to its Board of Directors as the club continues to strengthen its leadership both on and off the field.

The Hon. Philip Dalidakis, John Karantzis and Associate Professor Marinis Pirpiris join the club at an important stage, bringing expertise across government, law, healthcare and corporate governance as South Melbourne continues to pursue its long-term ambitions.

Few football clubs in Australia can match South Melbourne’s proud history, but the club’s focus is firmly on the future. The latest appointments reflect a deliberate commitment to building a Board with the experience and strategic capability required to support sustained growth and success.

Dalidakis brings extensive experience across government, business and public policy. A former Victorian Cabinet Minister and C-suite executive, he is the Managing Partner of Orizontas and currently represents Australia on the APEC Business Advisory Council. He also holds board positions across the life sciences, defence and social impact sectors, and has chaired audit and risk committees across a range of organisations.

Karantzis is a Partner and Head of Personal Injury Law and Litigation at Carbone Lawyers, with more than 28 years of experience. Accredited as a Specialist in Personal Injury Law by the Law Institute of Victoria, he has also been recognised by Doyle’s Guide as one of Victoria’s leading plaintiff lawyers and litigators.

Pirpiris is an internationally recognised orthopaedic surgeon, academic and healthcare leader. A consultant surgeon at Epworth and Cabrini Hospitals, he specialises in robotic hip and knee replacement, arthritis management and sports injury care, and is a Fellow of both the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and the Australian Orthopaedic Association.

Co-Presidents Bill Papastergiadis and Andrew Mesourouni said the appointments were about more than adding credentials to the Board.
“Philip, Marinis and John are exactly the kind of people South Melbourne Hellas needs at Board level right now,” they said.
“Each brings exceptional expertise in their respective fields, but just as importantly, they understand what this club represents. Their connection to South Melbourne’s values, history and community makes them a natural fit as we continue building for the future.”

The appointments form part of an ongoing renewal of the club’s leadership, reinforcing South Melbourne’s commitment to strong governance as it builds on its proud football tradition.

Mizuno’s Australian gamble: can a 120-year-old brand break through?

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Image Credit: Mizuno

When Mizuno unveiled a mural of Socceroos captain Harry Souttar on a Richmond wall during the 2026 World Cup, the company’s name did not appear on the artwork. The artist, Rory Ledge, painted Souttar as the “Minister of Defence” behind a brick wall. Channel 7 and Channel 9 turned up. The Herald Sun ran it in their Saturday edition. Mizuno’s brand director called it “mainstream awareness” without paid media.

The mural sat within a broader push by the Osaka-based company to expand in Oceania. For the fiscal year ending March 2026, Mizuno reported sales of ¥259 billion, up 7.8 per cent year-on-year, with net income of ¥18.4 billion representing 20.5 per cent growth . Operating profit rose to ¥22.6 billion. The Asia and Oceania segment is central to the company’s medium-term plan, which targets net sales of ¥290 billion by fiscal 2027.

The growth imperative

Australian football has not historically been kind to specialist boot brands. Nike, Adidas and Puma dominate retail shelves. A-Leagues collective bargaining agreements and club deals have locked in incumbents. For a brand without the marketing budgets of its competitors, the path to relevance runs through the players.

Mizuno has grown its Australian ambassador base from one athlete to around 20 across the A-Leagues in recent seasons. Melbourne City’s Tolgay Arslan, who played in the Bundesliga and Serie A before arriving in Australia, told Front Page Football: “If I discovered these boots ten years ago, I would wear these boots overseas in my career.” Western United midfielder Angus Thurgate called them “the comfiest boots I’ve ever worn”.

The mural moment

Richmond was chosen for the mural because of its location. The suburb sits at the centre of Melbourne’s sporting precinct, five minutes’ walk from the MCG and AAMI Park. It is already home to murals of AFL players. Rowena Corner Store owner Con, who agreed to host the artwork, had previously welcomed murals of Dusty Martin and an AFLW player.

“We didn’t have access to Harry because he was in the US competing,” brand director Rishi said. “We couldn’t do a photoshoot. So we had to be clever. The best ideas come from real time, aligned with what the public discourse looks like. Once we saw his Wikipedia page updated to refer to him as the Minister of Defence, we knew we could play into this.”

Ledge incorporated an existing window into the design to create a net behind Souttar’s figure. The mural appeared the morning of the Paraguay match, when Australia’s clean sheet sent them into the knockout phase.

The World Cup provided a massive backdrop. The Socceroos’ run captivated the nation: 4.84 million Australians tuned in to the Paraguay match, making it the most-watched World Cup match in SBS history at the time, with an average audience of 3.086 million . The final reached 5.26 million viewers, and cumulative tournament reach hit 18.04 million— 64 per cent of Australia’s population. SBS director of sport Ken Shipp said: “We’ve never seen engagement at this level.” Mizuno spent comparatively little and had Channel 7 and Channel 9 on site.

The commercial question

For a brand with limited marketing firepower, organic PR coverage is the prize. The question for the company’s Oceania division, still in growth mode, is whether a mural and a handful of player endorsements can convert into sustained commercial traction. Retail partnerships with Ultra Football, which has created a dedicated Mizuno space at its Melbourne store, suggest the company is thinking beyond campaigns.

Mizuno’s European expansion has taken a different path. The company signed a five-year deal to become AS Monaco’s technical equipment partner from the 2025-26 season, its first entry into Ligue 1. It already has a presence in Germany’s Bundesliga and Italy’s Serie A. In Australia, institutional partnerships are harder to secure. The approach has been slower: build through athletes, then through community, then through culture.

The Queensland government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Mizuno in March 2026 to explore the Japan-Australia Sports & Health Innovation Exchange (JASHIE), a two-year partnership focused on sport and health innovation . The agreement supports Queensland’s preparations for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The mural campaign reflected a broader trend in sporting brand marketing, where IP restrictions and athlete availability increasingly demand creative solutions. “I love what Levi’s did because they were able to lean into their brand codes and tell what I believe to be the most memorable advertising story from the World Cup,” Rishi said. “This is a different page out of fundamentally the same playbook.”

Mizuno’s boots are not cheap. The Made-in-Japan models retail well above competitors’ offerings. The brand’s pitch rests on quality and heritage, not price or volume. That is a harder sell in a country where discounting dominates and cost-of-living pressures are squeezing households.

The Souttar mural will eventually fade or be painted over. Mizuno is betting that by the time it does, enough Australian football fans will have noticed the three stripes’ quieter rival.

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