There's a time in my life, during my primary and secondary school days, when watching 'live' football matches is relatively a...... free affair. Which is, other than just paying the electricity bills for using a portion of the power for your TV, you need not have to worry terms like 'subscription fees', 'extra charges', 'price plans', even 'exclusive rights' or 'set top box'.
When it began, World Cup and English Premier League (including the FA Cup) matches were initially telecast 'live' on national channels. Then cable TV came along but it's still not really an issue. Choices of football action was widened and all you have to pay is the bare minimum for the basic channels (of which the sports channel are also a part of). You still get to catch 'live' matches occasionally on the national channels. I guess, it's safe to say, that things at that time is still..... all right.
Then came the day when Starhub made a landmark decision, some two years ago, (http://www.digitalmediaasia.com/default.asp?ArticleID=15829) to “.....offer the full coverage of the 2006 FIFA World Cup from 10 June to 10 July 2006 through a special World Cup pay-per-view package comprising four dedicated channels to provide different views of each match.” Meaning consumers are expected to pay extra..... for an event that is held once every four years, on top of the basic fees they have to bear. This is an early sign of the things to come.
Several months later, the issue of football telecast proved to be a costlier affair. Starhub create yet another controversy by imposing a $10 increase for its sports channels, upsetting even more fans during the period of the GST hikes.
(http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/281667/1/.html)
The organization simply stated that they have no choice and justified the increase to rising operation cost and competition despite a strong first quarter net profit gain. As expected, few found their explanation satisfying. Then came the latest blow.....
“SingTel wins exclusive rights to broadcast UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup”
- Channel NewsAsia, 20 March 2008
(http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/336262/1/.html)
All right..... bad enough, we have to pay extra to watch World Cup matches. Worse, we have to withstand further price increase. Now Singtel (not Starhub this time) had delivered what's truly the mother of all smackdowns on football viewership by securing the right to be the only provider in Singapore to telecast next year's UEFA events on cable TV. And what does this translate for a die hard football fan like that Mr Tan next door?
It means... on top of being a Starhub subscriber who has to bear the high cost of watching EPL and the World Cup, Mr Tan now has to sign up with ANOTHER cable service provider (who else but our beloved Singtel) for the UEFA Championship.
A miracle if this recent news had not given Mr Tan a fatal heart attack.
But just in case, anybody thinks I'm making a big hoo ha over the latest development, consider Singtel's fees for its 'mio' channels:
-Mio channels: At lest $15 monthly
-Installation charges and a phone modem, assuming you are an existing SingTel telephone line
subscriber: $117
-Prices for football offering: Yet to be finalised.
-Singtel laughing at the back of ordinary taxpayers who are willing to pay for more:
Priceless.
So ask yourself... who's the loser in the end? No, not Starhub, not Singtel......
Us. Every single one of us who still call ourselves football fans.
Since when is there a time when good customer service and care is being relegated to the benches, in favour of massive profit earnings and vicious corporate competitions?
Oh, silly me, it has already happen in the beginning, it's just that lately, some people has gotten a little greedier, that's all.
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