If you want to cancel or adjust your subscription, you may wish to do it before your next billing cycle. The price hike starts on November 3rd. Starhub Customer Care hotline is 1633.
Excerpt:
StarHub CableTV doubles price of sports package to $15.75
By Johnson Choo, Channel NewsAsia
SINGAPORE : Bad news for sports fans.
They are going to have to pay nearly double the amount to watch the sports channels on cable television.
Beginning next month, subscriptions to StarHub CableTV's sports package will go up from about $8 a month to almost $16.
Earlier this year, football fans in Singapore faced a black out of live broadcasts of English Premier League matches.
This was because of a pricing dispute between StarHub and ESPN Star Sports.
To the fans' relief, the two sides resolved the dispute, but kept the details secret.
But fans are now feeling the knock on effect.
Starhub says the increase, which is almost 100 percent, is "inevitable" as the cost of sports programs has "skyrocketed".
"I have second thoughts on whether I should subscribe or not, because I don't think it's fair to us," said one sports fan.
"Obviously I don't feel good, need to pay extra money for the changes," another fan added.
"SCV is a monopoly so whatever they want to charge, people don't have a choice. So if you're a monopoly you can basically do what you want, and you either stay with them or you just don't watch sports," said a member of the public.
Another added that, "What we should be doing now is to introduce more competition into the entire industry so that consumers have a choice."
StarHub has assured cable subscribers that the increase will be confined to the sports channels.
The cheapest plan which includes the sports package will go up from $28 to $35.
To discourage viewers from cancelling their subscription, the cable operator is offering existing customers a 15% discount on the sports package if they sign up for another 12 months.
The hike in subscription rates comes a week after investors panned the loss-making company's initial public offering.
StarHub refused to say how much more revenue it will earn from the price hike.
Two other subscription plans that include the sports channels, "Action Seeker" and "All-Time Favourites" will also see a nine percent hike from $47.25 to $51.45. - CNA
