TR EMERITUS

By Bhaskaran Kunju

After months of promotions in the media and a press release telling viewers to look out for a new free to air sports channel in January 2010, Starhub has backtracked on this promise.

Starhub had announced in November 2009 that two new free sports channels would be made available to all its subscribers. One of the channels, a ‘self-packaged 24-hour sports channel’ was to be launched in January 2010, and would have been followed by Eurosports, a 24-hour sports news channel, in July 2010.

Both channels will now be released in July 2010 and customers will only be updated closer to the date of launch. The reasons for the delay have not been announced.

The self-packaged sports channel was to have carried a wide variety of sports content including football, wrestling, tennis and local sports. Viewers were also told to look forward to at least one football match and one wrestling match each week.

Starhub’s latest stumble follows it’s setback from last year when it lost its coveted rights to the Barclays Premier League (BPL) for the next three years to competitor SingTel. The rights to broadcast the BPL had been Starhub’s prized asset and is expected to cause a considerable loss to the cable giant.

As part of the fallout from the bidding wars by SingTel and Starhub, football fans in Singapore could expect to miss the upcoming World Cup in June as the two telcos and FIFA are still in a deadlock over the price for the broadcast rights. Despite insiders putting the figure at around $40million – in line with other territories in the region – there has been an impasse as both SingTel and Starhub have claimed the price to be too high.

After winning the rights in 2006 for an estimated $250 million, and in the process outbidding SingTel, Starhub announced a price hike across the board in 2007. It was the first such increase in subscription rates since the cable service’s inception in 1995.

Basic subscription fee for everyone was increased by $4 and sports fans had to fork out an additional $10 to watch the sports channels. The high price of subscription has been an issue of much dismay and displeasure for subscribers over the years.

The two free sports channels had been promised by Starhub almost immediately after SingTel announced its winning bid and was supposed to have been a frantic exercise to retain customers and prevent a total fallout in confidence. Now, it will only likely be seen as a desperate fumble as the once sole cable operator faces a massive market battle with SingTel.

The latest winning bid by SingTel is estimated to be around $400 million and gives the broadcasting rights to SingTel for the next three years. SingTel has already capitalized on its acquisition of the rights by announcing its pricing plans.

Fans will have to pay to just $23 to watch the BPL on SingTel’s mio TV platform next season, with no additional costs for basic subscription. It is a 60% comparative drop from Starhub’s minimum $53 fee, which includes a basic subscription fee of $24 and set-top box rental fee of $4 in addition to the $25 subscription fee for the sports group package.

SingTel will also offer ESPN and its sister channel Star Sports in its sports package. The loss of two of the biggest sports channels in the region together with the rights to the BPL is a major blow for Starhub and is expected to see an exodus of subscribers when SingTel starts broadcasting the BPL next season.

Copyright © The Temasek Review, 2009

Other articles by Bhaskaran Kunju:

>> How much immunity for a diplomat

>> The saga of (dethroned) beauty queen Ris Low

>> Is there room for more foreigners in Singapore?

>> Why social cohesion is at the forefront of the Prime Minister’s National Day Rally

>> Changes in political system to allow more alternative voices

>> The untimely departure of Chip Goodyear

>> Should universities be re-politicized?

About Author:

Bhaskaran Kunju is a political science undergraduate in a local varsity. He is a regular contributor to the Straits Times Forum and TODAY Voices.

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