Singapore – Viewers and local press were quick to jump on jerky moments in SingTel mio TV debut coverage of Barclays Premier League opening matches on Saturday 14 August 2010. SingTel spokesperson says the problems were inherent from source and experienced in other countries as well. “The issues were inherent from the London-based facility and were experienced in many countries. During the matches, several tickers with apologies and explanations were run directly from London. Premier League Productions in London has officially apologised and is conducting a full investigation into the issues that affected many of the international broadcasters,” she said. There was significant focus on SingTel mio TV’s start to a three-year BPL exclusive broadcast deal that cost the telco an estimated S$400 million. On-screen problems, including loss of feed, were also experienced by mio TV viewers during the recent FIFA World Cup – the rights for which SingTel shared with rival StarHub. StarHub spokesperson remains upbeat about their continued pay TV success, despite the loss of BPL. “The BPL season has only just commenced. As we have a wide range of content besides sports, we believe that there will be minimal loss of our pay TV service presence in households. There are 16 sports channels on StarHub TV (nine channels within the Sports Group; two complimentary sports channels; and five add-on channels comprising cricket and American sports). Key sports content such as the Spanish league La Liga, German Bundesliga, US Open, all ATP Masters 1000 events and major golf events are already in our line-up.” As of 30 June 2010, StarHub TV’s subscriber base was 541,000; SingTel mio TV’s was 220,000.