The news many football fans feared was confirmed today: you will have to sign up to Optus to watch the English Premier League from next season. It’ll cost $15 a month for Optus postpaid mobile and broadband customers, or free for subscribers who spend more than $85 a month on a plan. EPL fans are furious with forums and social media overflowing with rage. Some say it’s worse than the stranglehold Foxtel has on Game of Thrones. To earn the right to this opprobrium, Optus spent an astonishing amount of money, buying the Australian rights for $US150 million ($A200m) over three years. For perspective, Fox Sports and SBS paid $A160 million over four years for the rights to Australia’s national soccer competition, the A-League. To understand how Optus were able to outbid Australia’s largest sports network for the rights, you need to understand how the EPL rights process works. The EPL TV rights are offered via a blind auction, so no one knows who else is bidding or how much. And the EPL, like most football organisations are obsessed with money, so it’s literally just the highest bidder wins. Other sports will look at strategic issues such as reach and…