|
The signs were plain that sports fans might soon have to dig deeper into their wallets, when StarHub Cable Vision (SCV) last year purportedly shelled out US$160 million ($247 million) for coverage of the English Premier League.
But there has been little or no warning for the general TV buff of what is to come next month.
From July 11, SCV homeviewers will have to fork out $4 more in subscription fees across the board — the first such hike in its basic pay-TV prices since the service was rolled out in 1995.
Sports fans subscribed to the basic groups will, in addition, have to foot a $10-increase in fees for the sports channels, come October.
Not surprisingly, subscribers are unhappy with the planned fee hikes and are looking forward to alternatives in pay TV by year's end.
Mr Thomas Ee, StarHub's senior vice-president of cable, fixed and IP services, said the price increases are a "natural result" of the rising prices of pay-TV content, which makes up 42 per cent of StarHub's cable TV revenue.
Said Mr Ee: "Most pay-TV operators around the world increase prices periodically, and StarHub has not done so despite a steady rise in costs over the years ... It is impossible to continue absorbing the costs indefinitely, so we have no choice but to implement this rate adjustment at this time."
Just last month, StarHub announced a strong first-quarter showing, with its net profit rising 13.9-per-cent year-on-year, from $61.4 million to $70 million.
Asked about possible perceptions of profiteering, Mr Ee told TODAY: "After taking in other operating expenses and the large capital required to build a cable network island-wide, the margin in cable TV is the leanest of any of the services that we provide.
"In fact, it has taken a decade for our pay-TV business to break even."
Subscription numbers have been rising steadily. According to StarHub, as of end-March, 490,000 households were subscribed to its cable TV services — that is, 43.6 per cent of households with television sets.
SCV — the offspring of a 2002 merger between Singapore Cable Vision and StarHub — last raised prices of its sports package from $8 to $15 in late 2004.
It reportedly paid US$160 million last November to broadcast English Premiership matches for three years. But while many had anticipated the fee hike for its sports pay-TV package, the move to raise fees across all channels has left subscribers seeing red.
Mr Leong Hoon Kee, who lives in a private estate, will have to pay more than $60 monthly after the latest round of fee revisions.
Said the 55-year-old: "If we don't subscribe to SCV, we'd have to install our own antenna to even receive free-to-air channels, and the reception would be poor."
Another subscriber, Mr Eugene Ng, said he was considering terminating the service "just to show my displeasure". Said Mr Ng, 27: "Right now, it's a monopoly. I will definitely go for the operator with the lower prices when there's competition."
Mr Seah Seng Choon, the executive director of the Consumers' Association of Singapore, lamented the "bad" timing of the increases, which coincide with the hike in the Goods and Services Tax and Nets' levy charges.
Noting that SingTel was set to join the pay-TV market later this year with its Internet-Protocol TV (IPTV), Mr Seah said: "We do not understand the rationale for StarHub to choose July to hike their fees. We would certainly like to see more competition in the pay-TV industry quickly, such as having more providers offering IPTV so that consumers can have choices."
But StarHub's Mr Ee rejected suggestions that the company has enjoyed a monopoly in pay-TV services.
"With the recent entries of other pay-TV operators into the market, StarHub is no longer the sole operator in Singapore," he said. "Even before the local pay-TV market was opened up, StarHub was facing competition from other sources such as the local free-to-air channels."
As for whether there would be further increases to the prices of SCV's Action Seekers and Ultimate Value Packs — which include the sports channels — a StarHub spokesperson said: "As to whether there will be other changes nearer to October, we will announce at a later date."
Over the past year, SCV has been criticised for charging sports subscribers for pay-per-view channels covering major events such as the football and cricket World Cups.
StarHub had maintained that such a policy was in line with other regional broadcasters, given the expensive telecast rights.
- TODAY/so
|
