SingTel clinches exclusive rights to Barclays Premier League; ESS moves to mioTV

The appointment followed a submission of bids by SingTel and StarHub for the rights late on Tuesday.

StarHub holds the exclusive broadcast rights for the current BPL season, which will end in May 2010.

The rights will be for mio TV, as well as the Internet and mobile. In addition to winning the Barclays Premier League rights, SingTel has secured exclusive broadcast rights to a suite of sports networks and services from ESPN Star Sports (ESS) for mio TV starting from mid-2010.

The channels include ESPN, Star Sports and Star Cricket which feature sporting events including the FA Cup, AFC, Formula One, the Australian Open, Wimbledon, The Open Championship (golf) and the US Open Golf Championship.

ESPNEWS, a brand new 24-hours sports news channel, is also set to premiere on mio TV in November 2009 with other exclusive sports services set to be unveiled soon.

In a statement, Allen Lew, SingTel CEO, said: “We are delighted that SingTel will be bringing Barclays Premier League matches to Singapore. Football fans can look forward to a revolutionary way of viewing ‘live’ soccer matches.”

He added: “Best of all, they will not be charged more than what they are currently paying to their cable TV operator, while at the same time enjoying superior experience and convenience from our integrated platform offering,” Mr Lew added.

Premier League chief executive, Richard Scudamore, said: “We are pleased to welcome SingTel as our new partner for Singapore and are confident that they will broadcast all the best Barclays Premier League action in a comprehensive and innovative manner.”

Kathleen Syron, head of content at StarHub, added: "While we are committed to offering quality sports content, we are mindful of the balance in meeting consumers' expectations with regard to price, and shareholders' expectations in terms of profits. Presently our Sports package is priced below the cost of the content that makes up that package. Our bid for BPL was aggressive, but also made with the intent to hold retail prices stable."