SINGAPORE — With its offerings of live English Premier League (EPL) matches priced as low as S$19.90 per month, Eleven Sports Network (ESN) was hailed as a boon for budget-conscious football fans when its deals were unveiled last year.

But in a surprising move, news emerged last week that the global sports network has pulled the plug — after just one EPL season —  on its multi-year deal with local telco Singtel. 

In an exclusive interview with TODAY, ESN managing director Shalu Wasu on Monday (May 29) pinned the blame squarely on online piracy.  

The company, which was founded in 2015, had to “amicably” end its EPL sub-licensing deal with Singtel as it was “extremely challenging” to attract and retain new subscribers, he added. 

“We had a fantastic response to our offerings, as we gave choices to Singaporean football fans at lower prices at the same time,” he said. 

ESN had 45,000 subscribers for the recent EPL season and it will be contacting its customers this week. They can switch to a cheaper plan, or opt out and receive pro-rated refunds. ESN’s earlier deal with Singtel gave it the rights to screen three ‘live’ matches and three delayed telecasts a week on their website and mobile application, as well as a channel on Singtel Mio TV to show these games.

“We experienced, in our first full year of operations, that piracy is a big challenge in Singapore. Fans and consumers have access to live streams of matches from various sources ranging from apps, android boxes to streaming websites.

“That has made it extremely challenging to recruit new subscribers and keep them for a longer period of time. When we speak to subscribers, they say (what we’re offering is) great, but not as great as free (content).”

Earlier this month, a report by London-based tech firm Muso rated online users in Singapore as the ninth-worst Internet pirates in the world. Singapore was the only Asian country in the top 10 list.

Mr Wasu said ESN tried to work with the authorities to fight piracy but added: “It looks like it is a problem that will take longer to resolve. Piracy affects everyone, including other players in the market. But it affects us more because we are primarily a streaming solutions provider…the bulk of our revenue is from streaming subscriptions.”

“Yes, we’re disappointed that one of the big reasons we had to change our strategy is piracy, but we believe this problem will be resolved and it’s in the long-term interest of authorities to solve it.” 

Hailed an a cheaper alternative for ‘live’ EPL action, ESN’s EPL content cost customers S$19.90 a month for a one-year contract, S$24.90 a month for those without a contract, and S$214.90 for an annual pass. 

Last December, ESN announced the Eleven Sports Pass for S$0.99 a week or S$39.90 annually which gave viewers on-the-go access to English FA Cup and League Cup matches, and other sports content. 

Singtel’s mio Stadium+ package, which offers live screenings of all EPL games and access to the Eleven Plus Channel, costs S$64.90 per month. 

Mr Wasu also revealed plans to continue allowing subscribers to watch EPL, despite ending its live broadcasts. ESN will offer two new 24/7 channels — Chelsea TV and MUTV (Manchester United TV) — which will show delayed screenings of the clubs’ matches on the same day. 

The new Eleven Value Plan will cost S$9.90 per month or $99.90 a year. Subscribers will be contacted this week on the changes and switched to the new plan by June 16. Those who opt out will get pro-rated refunds. 

The changes will also affect Internet Service Providers such as Mediacorp’s Toggle, M1, StarHub and ViewQwest which bought and resold ESN’s EPL coverage. ESN said it is working out the changes with its partners. 

Anil Nihalani, Head, Connected Media, Mediacorp, said Toggle will be contacting its customers soon: “We are working out the best alternatives for Sports Mania Pass subscribers following the changes that ESN just announced ... We will provide them with options and respect their choices. Toggle will also continue to find ways to deliver content our customers most enjoy.”

In response to TODAY’s queries, Singtel said it is “always keen to explore the possibility of distributing Premier League to interested parties”. 

StarHub said: “We share our customers’ disappointment that the Eleven Sports channels have stopped showing Premier League matches. We will be contacting Prime Eleven Pass StarHub Go customers to provide assistance over this week.”

According to ESN, the Eleven Sports Value Plan will continue to give subscribers access to other football properties and sports, including the FA Cup, Italian Serie A, Fifa World Cup qualifiers and Singapore international matches, NBA, International Table Tennis Federation Championships, and FINA World Championships.

Mr Wasu added that giving up the EPL matches is not a setback. 

“We expect to retain most of our subscribers…what we are bringing is content that is relevant to the biggest fan club in Singapore in Man United and EPL champions Chelsea,” he said.

“The content, together with the price point which is half what we were charging earlier is a very attractive proposition.”

ESN will also unveil more football-related content to subscribers soon. 

Mr Mohit Lalvani, ESN’s Business Development Director & Head added: “We’re very committed to consumer driven solutions. We’ve been disruptive and will continue to give value for money options (to customers).”