SINGAPORE — After it blamed online piracy for scrapping its live broadcast of English Premier League (EPL) matches, Eleven Sports Network (ESN) has come under fire from some subscribers for the poor selection of matches and erratic quality of its live streams.

And these were probably the actual reasons why the network failed to retain its customers, they said.

ESN’s sub-licensing deal with Singtel saw it screening three live matches and three delayed telecasts a week on their website and mobile application. It also had a channel on Mio TV to show the games.

Hailed as a cheaper alternative for live EPL action, ESN charged customers S$19.90 a month for a one-year contract, and S$24.90 a month without a contract. In contrast, 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.

However, subscribers told TODAY that despite ESN’s promise of “top” matches, several games involving top clubs like Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool were not aired.

Said Mr Ian Liow: “They (ESN) promised live matches of major clubs, yet they did not show United’s matches against Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal. They over-promised and under-delivered.”

Ms Jane Sng was frustrated by the streaming quality. “It was okay on mobile, but not on smart TV,” she said. “There was always an error message, and it was so frustrating.”

Commenting on TODAY’s Facebook page, Mr Isaiah Daniel Ling said: “Their streaming was choppy at best and intermittent. Honestly, some free streaming sites were smoother … don’t blame piracy, blame your ineffectual service.”

Responding to TODAY’s queries, ESN acknowledged that there were complaints about streaming quality, but that it was generally stable.

ESN marketing and communications director Jonathan Wong said factors like “low Internet bandwidth due to multiple device usage on the same network, 3G connections” could have affected streaming quality. He added that ESN’s feed has been “stable and consistent since the turn of the year”.

On ESN’s selection of matches, Mr Wong said: “What everyone is referring to are matches of the most popular clubs like Man United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea. But Eleven Plus was not set up as a specific club(s) channel as it contravenes EPL rules. Our aim was to ensure that where possible, most fans got to see the majority of their favourite clubs playing, within the limitations of our broadcast agreements with the main licensor.”

Mr Wong added that statistics showed streaming quality and content were not the reasons why subscribers chose not to continue with ESN.

“To have 45,000 subscribers at the end of the EPL season, coupled with the fact that according to the IMDA (Info-communications Media Development Authority of Singapore), ESN was the most watched sports channel in Singapore, proves that.”

On the flip side, there were also subscribers who were fine with ESN’s coverage.

Said Manchester United fan Marcus Chan: “There are six big teams in the EPL and six don’t go into three very well. I can recall only one time that I couldn’t watch a United game. Sure, I was mad, but I knew potentially this could happen before I signed up. I also have no complaints about the streaming ... pirated sites are far worse.”

Subscriber Yap Meng said: “The streaming was pretty steady. Only a couple of occasions where (I had) problems with it.

“To be fair, S$19.90 is not that high a price to pay for live sports and I would have continued into the next season if they continued the service.”

In place of the live matches, 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 a month or $99.90 a year. ESN will be contacting its subscribers to inform them of their new offerings and prices. Those who opt out will receive pro-rated refunds. ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY TEO TENG KIAT AND LOW LIN FHOONG.