MDA plans to get Pay-TV operators to offer consumers shorter contracts
TODAY file photo
SINGAPORE — Pay-TV operators such as StarHub and Singtel may have to give their customers the option of a 12-month or shorter contract term for all packages or bundles they offer, under a new recommendation by the Media Development Authority (MDA) as it works to enhance customer protection measures under the Media Market Conduct Code.
Under this new measure, consumers will have the choice to pick shorter contracts if they are uncomfortable with a long-term one, the authority said in a press release on Wednesday (March 16).
The measures under the proposal are expected to take effect next month, and they are meant to address three main consumer concerns, namely forced upgrades of non-pay-TV services, the lack of awareness of contract terms and conditions, as well as contract changes the telcos implement.
The MDA, in planning these measures, held a public consultation in late 2014.
It had initially proposed to allow consumers to exit a contract without penalties when any channel, or content within a channel, is removed.
Now, the proposal has been modified to allow consumers to exit fixed term contracts without penalties if the operator increases subscription fee, removes a channel, removes sports content within a channel, or removes at least 20 per cent of the total number of channels in its entire pay-TV service since the subscription date.
MDA said the change is to “provide the industry with some flexibility to innovate in their content offerings” while safeguarding consumers’ interest.
Another change was the proposal to allow pay-TV operators to charge a penalty for early exit of contract if they, say, already took action to reduce subscription fees as they remove channels or content within a channel.
The MDA said it would drop this recommendation after feedback from both the consumers and industry players that they do not find such mitigating factors effective or practical.
Other recommendations remain unchanged, such as allowing consumers to exit a contract without penalties no later than 30 days from the date of change, and asking operators to get customers’ consent to continue with a trial or complimentary service before they can start charging for it.
It also plans to disallow operators from forcing subscribers to upgrade their non pay-TV services, such as broadband or phone service contracts, in order to make changes to their services, though they are allowed to offer such upgrades for customers to consider.
Operators are also allowed to implement early termination charges for equipment such as laptops and tablets that are part of non-essential services provided, subject to conditions.
In ensuring that customers are better informed on contract terms and conditions, the company will have to highlight the important terms and conditions to them in a clear and accurate manner and get their confirmation on it, MDA said.
