Champions League still up in the air: Singtel, StarHub yet to secure rights
Singtel and StarHub yet to secure live broadcast rights but say discussions are under way
With just a month left until the start of the Uefa Champions League group stage on Sept 18, there is still no guarantee that the matches will be shown live in Singapore.
Spokesmen for telcos StarHub and Singtel told The New Paper separately yesterday that they have yet to secure the television rights to the Champions League and Europa League.
Singtel's spokesman said that Eurosport, which had aired both tournaments since 2015, had not renewed the rights.
Singtel and StarHub are no longer carrying Eurosport, which is owned by Discovery.
Replying to TNP's queries, StarHub's head of content business, Ms Lee Soo Hui, said discussions on acquiring the rights for the Champions League and Europa League are under way.
She declined to give more details, citing commercial confidentiality.
Uefa's website indicated the deadline to submit bids for the rights for the next three seasons of the competitions in Singapore was Feb 1 this year.
As of June 1, the only Asian countries that signed contracts were Indonesia and Japan.
Despite this, analysts told TNP that football fans here should remain patient.
Mr Oliver Wilkinson, entertainment and media leader for PwC Singapore, said: "The nature of tough negotiations is that deals are usually struck somewhat close to the deadline, so it would be premature to expect the dropping of further content."
Mr James Walton, sports business group leader for Deloitte South-east Asia, is confident the rights will eventually be picked up, as the Champions League is one of the biggest draws here, along with the English Premier League (EPL).
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While the Europa League has typically not enjoyed the same following, Mr Walton expects to see higher interest this season with the presence of popular EPL teams Arsenal and Chelsea.
"We are used to this in Singapore by now after the last-minute deal for the 2016 Olympics and other events in the past," he said.
Mr Walton added that the delay could even lead to good news as the telcos are trying to strike the best deal possible, and hence keep costs down for subscribers.
While there is still hope for live broadcasts of the Champions League, it will be cold comfort to fans of superstar Cristiano Ronaldo and the Serie A, which will not be shown by Singtel and StarHub.
Singtel said Eleven Sports, which previously held the broadcasting rights to Italy's top league, is no longer available on Singtel TV.
Mr Luo Wei Xiang, 34, told TNP that he felt angry and cheated as Singtel had not told him about the lack of Serie A football before he renewed his contract in June.
Lamenting the decline in variety of the telco's football offerings over the years, he said: "I am paying so much money and I don't know why... As a consumer, you feel frustrated."
In response to fan complaints, Singtel's spokesman told TNP: "We share our viewers' disappointment... We are looking to bring other key sports events to our customers while making sure that it is commercially feasible for the market."
This is not the first time Singapore fans have lost their Serie A fix, having endured similar experiences in 2005 and 2012.
Inter Milan fan Rasvinder Bhullar, 34, said: "Now every year, we have got to wonder, 'What are they showing? What are they not showing?'"
Mr Assarie Mohamed, 32, president of the official Juventus fan club here, said its more than 100 paying members have been affected by the lack of live Serie A coverage as the club had secured a place to screen matches.
He said: "We are at the losing end, of course."
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