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S’pore can’t set lower World Cup prices: Minister

SINGAPORE — Subscription prices for sports content is something the authorities have no say in because Singapore is a price-taker, and “populist” measures, such as ensuring free-to-air broadcaster MediaCorp can acquire and screen more matches, may lead to unintended negative consequences.

An aerial view shows the Beira-Rio stadium during its opening ceremony in Porto Alegre, April 5, 2014. The stadium will be one of the stadiums hosting the 2014 World Cup soccer matches. Photo: Reuters

An aerial view shows the Beira-Rio stadium during its opening ceremony in Porto Alegre, April 5, 2014. The stadium will be one of the stadiums hosting the 2014 World Cup soccer matches. Photo: Reuters

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SINGAPORE — Subscription prices for sports content is something the authorities have no say in because Singapore is a price-taker, and “populist” measures, such as ensuring free-to-air broadcaster MediaCorp can acquire and screen more matches, may lead to unintended negative consequences.

Senior Minister of State (Communications and Information) Lawrence Wong gave these explanations during Parliament yesterday, in response to a number of questions about whether more can be done about subscription prices for the coming World Cup.

The public has been up in arms since SingNet announced its World Cup subscription pricing, leading Members of Parliament to highlight that several other countries are airing all matches for free and questions about whether the cross-carriage framework was effective.

Yesterday, Mr Wong noted that the cross-carriage policy’s objective was to widen the distribution of exclusive content across pay TV operators — which it has achieved; there are now more than 60 channels available, up from seven in 2010, for instance — and its effectiveness should not be judged “in terms of whether prices have dropped”.

He also set out why the Media Development Authority (MDA) cannot regulate prices or intervene excessively in how many matches can be shown on free-to-air TV. “Content owners such as FIFA are not obligated to sell their content at a price they do not agree with. It is not something we welcome, but on this issue, we are unfortunately a price-taker, not a price-setter,” Mr Wong said, adding that rising premium sports content prices affects countries other than Singapore.

Because Singapore is a small market and has a high demand for World Cup matches, FIFA will consider the country’s purchasing power and act accordingly, he added. “Ultimately, somebody has to pay, it may not be consumers, but it may be taxpayers. Somebody has to pay FIFA for the rights until the dynamics are fundamentally altered.”

Explaining why more matches were not added to the anti-siphoning list — prohibiting pay TV operators from acquiring the content exclusively, such that national broadcaster MediaCorp can bid for and screen these — Mr Wong said this could disincentivise operators to acquire content.

A significant portion of public service broadcasting funds will also then have to be channelled into acquiring this content, instead of supporting other programmes that cover varied interests and genres, such as channels for minorities and programmes that promote Singapore’s culture and heritage.

“The MDA has to achieve a delicate balance. It should not be hasty to adopt populist measures that ultimately backfire, leaving consumers even worse off,” he added.

Mr Wong also noted that after including subscribers to the Barclays Premier League package — who can watch the World Cup for free — the average price per subscriber to this year’s World Cup is less than S$88.

Comparing subscription prices with other countries’ was also “inherently fraught”, Mr Wong said, because of widely varying factors such as the size of the pay TV market, as well as the potential advertising and sponsorship revenue available to broadcasters.

Nevertheless, Workers’ Party MP Pritam Singh suggested that negotiations for bidding be finalised 12 months in advance so that operators can source advertising revenue and reduce content charges.

Mr Wong said the MDA can review this, but said considerations include whether the bidder has to pay a higher price if they complete negotiations within a certain time frame.

He added that SingNet is not profiting by acquiring the World Cup content and pointed out that a joint bid will not significantly affect the outcome as FIFA is only looking within a narrow range of fees before agreeing on broadcasting rights. Ng Jing Yng

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