DISPARITY IN PRICES BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT MODELS TO ACCESS BROADCAST CONTENT
Not infrequently, I have received gripes from football fans about the cost of watching EPL matches in the current landscape where the authorities allow broadcasters to acquire content on an exclusive basis. This prompted me to file a Parliamentary Question with the Minister for Communications and Information to seek an explanation on the disparity in prices provided to StarHub and SingTel subscribers. Minister Josephine Teo, in her answer, highlighted that the Cross-Carriage Measures (“CCM”) do not apply to over-the-top platforms but only to set-top boxes. In my respectful view, there is a case to review and, if found necessary, update the scope of CCM, which was issued in 2011 to include other access platforms, as the preferences of subscribers to EPL change over time. This will ensure that the CCM continues to reflect and protect subscribers’ reasonable interests in a situation where a broadcaster is allowed to acquire rights to popular programmes on an exclusive basis.
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Mr Murali Pillai asked the Minister for Communications and Information why does IMDA allow StarHub to impose a subscription price of $64.90 per month for Premier League Pack via cross-carriage, in comparison to the preferential charge of $19.99 per month for subscribers applying by 30 June 2022 for the same programme via StarHub’s set-top boxes.
Mrs Josephine Teo … To the Member’s question about the difference in pricing for the Premier League Pack, I would like to clarify that it is offered at $64.90 per month via the Pay TV platform, and this same price is offered to all Pay TV subscribers, whether through StarHub or Singtel.
The Member may be referring instead to the pricing for StarHub’s Premier+ pack, which provides access to the broadcast of the Premier League not through Pay TV set-top boxes but via the Internet, also termed as over-the-top (OTT) platforms. The CCM does not apply to content accessed via OTT platforms, since consumers can more easily access content offered on many OTT platforms, without the need to subscribe to multiple set-top boxes. For the Premier+ pack via OTT, StarHub’s offer of $39.99 per month is not exclusive to its own subscribers. For existing and new subscribers of StarHub’s mobile, broadband or Pay TV services, this pack is available at discounted rates ($19.99 per month for a limited time before 30 June, and $24.99 per month thereafter). The offering of volume discounts across multiple services can provide savings to consumers. It is also a common industry practice, not limited to service providers in the telecommunication and media industries.
