StarHub to cut sports package pricing, offers two free sports channels

SINGAPORE: SingTel recently won the rights for the English Premier League for three years starting next season. Not to be outdone, StarHub — which currently holds the rights — is offering subscribers two free sports channels.

From January, StarHub will launch a new 24—hour sports channel, which will be available for free to all its customers. The content will include football, wrestling, tennis and local sports. Viewers can also look forward to at least one football match and one wrestling match each week.

Subscribers will also enjoy another free 24—hour sports news channel from July 2010. The channel, Eurosportnews, is currently offered as part of StarHub’s Sports Group.

StarHub says pricing for the Sports Group, currently at $25 a month, will be reduced by more than half from July next year. The new subscription price will be unveiled in the coming months.

From July, the Sports Group will comprise 10 channels. These are Football Channel, SuperSports, SuperSports Plus, Sports HD, Goal TV 1, Goal TV 2, Golf Channel, Eurosport, La Liga On Demand and WWE On Demand.

Welcoming StarHub’s moves, customer Christian Sidharta said: "Yeah, I think it’s good competition. Otherwise, it’s monopolised by SingTel and that’s not so good."

Another consumer, Patrick Soo, said: "It all depends. See what StarHub’s going to provide to us. If they have this EPL, then I may consider continuing with StarHub."

But subscriber Kartik Krish said: "I’ll definitely switch to MioTV, because I’m an ardent sports fan — soccer fan to be specific."

Meanwhile, SingTel has responded by giving more promotional offers to those who sign up early.

With SingTel winning exclusive rights to the EPL from next year, StarHub is bracing for an exodus of subscribers.

The latest moves are clearly seen at minimising the damage.

StarHub had even offered to carry SingTel Mio’s football channels on its network.

Whether this will work out or not is left to be seen, but for now it looks like customers are the real winners.

— CNA/ir