- Joined
- Jul 24, 2008
- Messages
- 33,627
- Points
- 0
Jul 7, 2010
SingTel did not address key question
<!-- by line --><!-- end by line -->
<!-- end left side bar --><!-- story content : start -->
SINGTEL'S reply last Thursday ('SingTel: mio TV sports pack is a good deal') to my query ('Another pricing penalty for pay TV sports fans'; June 26) failed to answer my key question, which is, why its ESPN package costs the same as the English Premier League (EPL) football package.
While I do not doubt that the bundled EPL-ESPN package is better value for money compared with subscribing to each package separately, the point is that SingTel appears to be making subscribers who are not football fans subsidise its EPL subscribers.
After all, the cost of SingTel's successful bid for EPL broadcast rights was estimated to have been astronomical. Did the acquisition of the ESPN/Star Sports broadcast rights from StarHub cost as much as the acquisition of EPL rights?
SingTel's reply also stated that my address would be covered by yesterday, a date that a SingTel employee had told me earlier but which I was informed was only an estimate. The actual date was to have been confirmed later, but I have not been told yet.
Also, being 'covered' does not necessarily mean that one has access to mio TV. From the experience of my parents, the lead time seems to be about 14 days from the time one calls to subscribe to the date the technician installs the set-top box.
Worse, I must now pay the one-time installation charge of $53.50 and service activation fee of $32.10, just because my house was unable to get mio TV before the special offers expired at the end of last month.
I certainly hope SingTel can hasten the installation of mio TV and extend the special offers to potential subscribers who received mio TV coverage only after the expiration of the special offers.
Thankfully, StarHub will continue to broadcast ESPN/Star Sports until the end of this month.
Keith Heah
SingTel did not address key question
<!-- by line --><!-- end by line -->
<!-- end left side bar --><!-- story content : start -->
SINGTEL'S reply last Thursday ('SingTel: mio TV sports pack is a good deal') to my query ('Another pricing penalty for pay TV sports fans'; June 26) failed to answer my key question, which is, why its ESPN package costs the same as the English Premier League (EPL) football package.
While I do not doubt that the bundled EPL-ESPN package is better value for money compared with subscribing to each package separately, the point is that SingTel appears to be making subscribers who are not football fans subsidise its EPL subscribers.
After all, the cost of SingTel's successful bid for EPL broadcast rights was estimated to have been astronomical. Did the acquisition of the ESPN/Star Sports broadcast rights from StarHub cost as much as the acquisition of EPL rights?
SingTel's reply also stated that my address would be covered by yesterday, a date that a SingTel employee had told me earlier but which I was informed was only an estimate. The actual date was to have been confirmed later, but I have not been told yet.
Also, being 'covered' does not necessarily mean that one has access to mio TV. From the experience of my parents, the lead time seems to be about 14 days from the time one calls to subscribe to the date the technician installs the set-top box.
Worse, I must now pay the one-time installation charge of $53.50 and service activation fee of $32.10, just because my house was unable to get mio TV before the special offers expired at the end of last month.
I certainly hope SingTel can hasten the installation of mio TV and extend the special offers to potential subscribers who received mio TV coverage only after the expiration of the special offers.
Thankfully, StarHub will continue to broadcast ESPN/Star Sports until the end of this month.
Keith Heah
