By Chia Han Keong

IT SEEMS paradoxical: Singaporeans are angry over rising pay-TV subscription costs as companies engage in bidding wars for exclusive sports content - yet they continue to pay the high rates.

This is the guiding principle that allows telcos SingTel and StarHub to make exorbitant bids for exclusive broadcast rights to Barclays Premier League (BPL) football games - 'iconic' sports content, in the words of SingTel chief executive Allen Lew.

Yesterday, his company secured BPL broadcast rights for the next three years - then managed to get well-known sports network ESPN Star Sports (ESS) to migrate from pay-TV rival StarHub CableTV to its mio TV.

Business-wise, it was undoubtedly a big coup. Instantly, SingTel became Singapore's premier sports-content provider, with the highly popular BPL as its solid cornerstone around which it can build related programmes.

Add ESS' bevy of programmes featuring popular sports such as Formula One racing, basketball and golf, and one cannot help but think that StarHub has suffered a serious blow, with the loss of its BPL rights as well as ESS' departure.

Mr Lew insisted that, despite SingTel's successful bid, sports fans making the jump from StarHub CableTV to mio TV will not pay more than what they are paying now.

Not surprisingly, most fans will remain unconvinced until SingTel rolls out its price plans for its sports package next year.

Indeed, these bidding wars usually ignore consumer sentiment, even as many viewers are unhappy at the thought of having to pay more for such competition.

In 2006, StarHub had reportedly bid $250 million for its current BPL rights, and angered sports fans when it raised the price after the successful bid for its sports cable package from $15 to $25 the following year.

Even the Media Development Authority was compelled to launch a study last year on such competition issues, although it has yet to release its findings.

But amid all the discontent about escalating subscription rates, it is worth noting that with every price hike, consumers have every right to 'show their discontent' - simply by not subscribing.

Did they do so? Some of them did but, clearly, not nearly enough.

And that is exactly what the two telcos are banking on: that the lure of live telecasts will be too much for these sports junkies, who need their regular fix of top-class football action.

Few will abandon such adrenalin-pumping thrills - even if they do not subscribe, they will find places which do.

And that works just as well for advertisers eager to sell their products at half-time and time-outs.

Barring a major scandal, BPL will continue to thrive and bidding wars will continue, until no one watches football and supports the clubs any more.

hankeong@sph.com.sg

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