I still remember one thing very clearly. When ST outbid SH for the EPL rights in 2009, SH offered to show the EPL on their station. ST's reply was that "it was 3 years too late". I did not understand what that means. Was it some some sort of negotiation or arrangement that was rejected? "3 years ago" would put that as 2006. When was mioTV started? I have been wondering what this "3 years too late" thing all along.
I found the answer today. And the MDA had to be blamed for what happen thereafter, from 2006/2007. And they had to U-Turn and bend with the cross-carriage regulation "3 years later", this time also benefiting SH.
Anyone still want to blame ST for bidding high for EPL rights?
The facts of "3 years too late":
Government rejects SingTel
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Government rejects SingTel’s second appeal
Posted on 06 August 2007
Singapore- New IPTV service provider SingTel’s second appeal to gain access to cabler StarHub’s content covered by exclusive carriage deals with content providers was turned down by Singapore's Minister for Information, Communication and the Arts (MICA), Lee Boon Yang, on July 27.
Following a three-year study on the impact of exclusive carriage contracts, the minister upheld the Media Development Authority of Singapore’s decision against SingTel’s initial appeal on May 10, 2006 which ruled that StarHub’s deals do not necessarily restrict competition in the local market. He stated SingTel had been unable to prove that StarHub’s agreements “foreclose” potential entrants' access to key content in the market, and that "there remained ample scope for commercial negotiations".
Thomas Ee, StarHub's Senior Vice President of Cable, Fixed & IP Services, said, "StarHub supports MICA's views with regard to content exclusivity, as they are consistent with the known practices elsewhere in the world. We have always maintained that there is sufficient content out there to launch a competing pay-TV service, as has been proven in the past week. It is also our view that new pay-TV operators should differentiate their services by offering new content. Otherwise they risk driving the already high cost of content even higher." The ministry’s ruling came a week after the debut of SingTel’s mio TV service on July 20, going head to head with StarHub’s cable service for a share of the pay TV market worth some S$350 million (US$230.1 million). mio TV is offering 33 channels including 24 linear and 9 on-demand channels together with on-demand movies on an a la carte basis. StarHub has 40 on-demand channels offering VOD content and 107 channels available on its digital platform from August 11 with the addition of the Football Channel. The Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) commended the Singapore government for not intervening. Simon Twiston Davies, CEO of CASBAA, noted that exclusivity enables pay-TV content providers and platform operators to differentiate their products. He expects competition to help Singapore’s pay TV market experience growth similar to Hong Kong, where four pay-TV operators competing.
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