STARHUB and SingTel are being investigated over whether they
improperly used information the Government shared with them about
pay-TV rule changes. Both pay-TV operators have promised to
cooperate fully.
On Tuesday, Acting Minister for Information, Communications and
the Arts Lui Tuck Yew said the Government was investigating the two
companies.
The minister, who was in Cannes this week attending MIPTV, an
annual marketplace for buyers and sellers of digital media content,
made these remarks in response to a journalist's query on
Singapore's new pay-TV rules.
The Government had taken care to hold only 'limited closed-door
consultations' to try and prevent leaks ahead of the March 12
announcement, which overhauled how pay-TV content is bought, sold
and distributed in Singapore, he said.
Despite this precaution, several pay-TV industry publications
ran stories predicting the Government's move before the actual
announcement was made. Several top-tier content providers also
inked multi-year deals with operators, some reportedly just before
the announcement. This rendered the ruling - which required SingTel
and StarHub to share their exclusive content with each other from
September - less effective.
In a statement, the Media Development Authority (MDA) said it
was 'concerned about reports that operators have rushed into
locking up exclusive content before the effective date of the
cross-carriage measure'.
-- ST