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[SINGAPORE] As broadcast rights for the English Premier League (EPL) remain in limbo for StarHub, the pay-TV operator has crossed swords with rival mio TV, alleging that there is more than meets the eye in the agreement between the Premier League and mio TV for the 2013-2016 package of rights.
"What is of grave concern is that we understand there may be a high rebate structure payable to our competitor in the event the content is sold by the Premier League to a second operator," said Jeannie Ong, head of corporate communications and investor relations at StarHub.
"This will make it uneconomic for the content provider to sell the same content to a second operator, creating a barrier to acquisition."
When asked to respond to these claims, a SingTel spokesman said: "The terms of the agreement for the broadcast of (EPL) are confidential . . . Given that the next season does not commence until August 2013, there is ample time for other parties to negotiate terms with the content provider if they are genuinely interested in doing so."
Since SingTel's mio TV sealed a surprise non-exclusive deal to air EPL matches for the 2013-2016 seasons late last year, StarHub's attempts to negotiate a set of rights for itself have been thwarted.
StarHub claims it was told by the Premier League that an "exclusive negotiation period" with another pay- TV operator in Singapore is in place until after the Chinese New Year period.
Taken to its natural conclusion, the situation has ramifications in the context of Singapore's new cross-carriage mandate. "This runs contrary to the objectives of the cross-carriage rule, which is to facilitate content across different operators' platforms and to give customers more choice," Ms Ong said.
The cross-carriage rule obliges a pay-TV operator to share its exclusive content with a rival upon request, lowering the incentive to seal exclusive deals. It does not, however, apply to non-exclusive deals like the one between SingTel and the Premier League.
"What is of grave concern is that we understand there may be a high rebate structure payable to our competitor in the event the content is sold by the Premier League to a second operator," said Jeannie Ong, head of corporate communications and investor relations at StarHub.
"This will make it uneconomic for the content provider to sell the same content to a second operator, creating a barrier to acquisition."
When asked to respond to these claims, a SingTel spokesman said: "The terms of the agreement for the broadcast of (EPL) are confidential . . . Given that the next season does not commence until August 2013, there is ample time for other parties to negotiate terms with the content provider if they are genuinely interested in doing so."
Since SingTel's mio TV sealed a surprise non-exclusive deal to air EPL matches for the 2013-2016 seasons late last year, StarHub's attempts to negotiate a set of rights for itself have been thwarted.
StarHub claims it was told by the Premier League that an "exclusive negotiation period" with another pay- TV operator in Singapore is in place until after the Chinese New Year period.
Taken to its natural conclusion, the situation has ramifications in the context of Singapore's new cross-carriage mandate. "This runs contrary to the objectives of the cross-carriage rule, which is to facilitate content across different operators' platforms and to give customers more choice," Ms Ong said.
The cross-carriage rule obliges a pay-TV operator to share its exclusive content with a rival upon request, lowering the incentive to seal exclusive deals. It does not, however, apply to non-exclusive deals like the one between SingTel and the Premier League.
