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May 24, 2010
What telcos can do to keep soccer fans
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IT IS less than three weeks to the kick-off of the World Cup.
It is said that some 20,000 netizens have vowed not to subscribe to the overpriced cable subscription rate. It smacks of exploitative pricing and profiteering, considering that it is seven times that of four years ago, although the rights this time could have cost just about three times more.
The telcos will probably claim that sponsorship income will be lower now because of the delay in getting the rights. But they should not be making up for it at the fans' expense.
Granted telcos are in the business to make money, but considering the circumstances, they should lower their profit expectations. Charging $30 to $40 does not necessarily mean no profits if it results in a much higher number of subscriptions to cover their fixed cost. Also non-monetary profit in terms of customer goodwill will be considerable and will last long after the World Cup is over.
Perhaps the telcos could propose a sponsorship from the media authorities to help defray their costs and lower subscription rates. Households are paying more than $100 a year in TV licence fees and there are many precedents worldwide of free-to-air World Cup telecast by national TV stations, but not here.
It is up to the telcos to provide fair access for its residents to global sporting events like the Formula One, the Olympics, the Youth Olympic Games, and hopefully, the World Cup.
Quek Soo Beng
What telcos can do to keep soccer fans
<!-- by line --><!-- end by line -->
<!-- end left side bar --><!-- story content : start -->
IT IS less than three weeks to the kick-off of the World Cup.
It is said that some 20,000 netizens have vowed not to subscribe to the overpriced cable subscription rate. It smacks of exploitative pricing and profiteering, considering that it is seven times that of four years ago, although the rights this time could have cost just about three times more.
The telcos will probably claim that sponsorship income will be lower now because of the delay in getting the rights. But they should not be making up for it at the fans' expense.
Granted telcos are in the business to make money, but considering the circumstances, they should lower their profit expectations. Charging $30 to $40 does not necessarily mean no profits if it results in a much higher number of subscriptions to cover their fixed cost. Also non-monetary profit in terms of customer goodwill will be considerable and will last long after the World Cup is over.
Perhaps the telcos could propose a sponsorship from the media authorities to help defray their costs and lower subscription rates. Households are paying more than $100 a year in TV licence fees and there are many precedents worldwide of free-to-air World Cup telecast by national TV stations, but not here.
It is up to the telcos to provide fair access for its residents to global sporting events like the Formula One, the Olympics, the Youth Olympic Games, and hopefully, the World Cup.
Quek Soo Beng
