Singapore – The Media Development Authority (MDA) has responded to recent letters and commentaries on the bidding for the Barclays Premier League rights. “We understand the concerns raised,” said a statement. “The bidding for the Barclays Premier League (BPL) rights is a commercial process, with the bidding and broadcast terms determined by the Football Association Premier League (FAPL) and agreed upon with the bidders. Prior to the BPL bidding, MDA had begun dialogue sessions with the industry on possible regulatory interventions to address this issue for the longer term.” “With the award of the BPL rights for the 2010 – 2013 seasons, MDA had asked SingTel to provide clarity on the pricing of their sports packages. We note that SingTel has committed to not charging more than what cable subscribers are currently paying and ensuring 100 percent rollout to all households by the time the EPL season starts in August 2010. Separately, MDA had also asked StarHub Cable Vision (SCV) to provide clarity on their termination charges for those subscribers who wish to switch subscription plans. We note that SCV has announced that they will not be charging any early termination fees for subscribers of sports packages who cancel their service after July next year.” Content exclusivity first came under public scrutiny in 2006 when Singapore Telecommunications appealed unsuccessfully to the Media Development Authority (MDA) to ban exclusive content such as the English Premier League (EPL) on the grounds that it discourages competition. Consumers also voiced their dissent on having to pay more for premium content that cannot be obtained elsewhere. Three years on, exclusive pay-TV content once again raised the ire of Singaporeans after SingTel out-bid StarHub to score the 2010-2013 broadcast rights for the EPL. Online forums and newspapers have since been flooded with complaints about the possibility of having to pay extra for an additional pay-TV subscription.