STARHUB fired the latest salvo in the pay-TV war yesterday by launching an 'a la carte' cable service that lets people pay only when they tune in to a channel.

Previously, viewers had to subscribe to a basic package of about 15 channels costing $24 a month.

The telco is now offering seven 'a la carte' channels, each costing $3 to $5 a day to tune in, on its Hubstation FlexiWatch service.

This allows the occasional couch potato to avoid paying a monthly fee and pay only for what he watches.

In the line-up of 'flexi-channels' are the Cantonese TVBJ and the Tamil Vijay channels. Viewers also get to select several other Basic Group channels, such as the National Geographic, for free.

StarHub's move appears to be aimed at the heartland audience that SingTel has been targeting of late. The challenger broke StarHub's 12-year stranglehold on the pay-TV market when it launched its mio TV service in July. Though lacking key content such as live football matches, SingTel has catered to a changing audience, letting them pay only for channels they watch.

As for StarHub's new service, its vice-president for cable TV services, Mr Patrick Lim, said FlexiWatch will fit frequent travellers and busy working adults.

But there is a catch: Users have to buy a StarHub Hubstation set-top box for $560.

Besides tuning in to cable channels, this all-in-one device lets users record TV programmes and connect up a PC to surf the Net for free.

To pay, they can either call 1633 or enter their credit card details on their TV remote control.

ALFRED SIEW