According to todayonline.com, StarHub plans to re-negotiate for the rights to broadcast the English Premier League (EPL), now known as Barclay’s Premier League, as a way to maintain its competitive edge.

The report quoted Chief Executive Neil Montefiore as saying, “When we took the Euro Cup on an exclusive basis, we priced it around S$60-S$70 depending on when you bought it. Generally, the feedback was that was too much, so I think we’d have to price significantly below that on a monthly basis. So somewhere between S$25 and S$35 I would think would be the pricing we’d want to offer customers.”

Inclusive of EPL matches, SingTel currently charges S$34.90 for its sports package. They recently secured non-exclusive rights to broadcast EPL matches for another three seasons starting next year. This has left the door open for StarHub to try to negotiate its own deal.

If the deal is signed, StarHub customers might have to pay S$25-S$35 a month to watch the matches. However, the company has so far been unable to start talks with the rights holders. “The EPL is still in an ‘exclusive negotiating period’ with SingTel,” said Montefiore.

The Edge Malaysia recently reported that Astro has won broadcast rights for the next three seasons of the EPL. Telekom Malaysia and Asian Broadcasting Network were said to be interested in the bid for EPL rights in Malaysia as well.

Thailand pay-TV operators TrueVisions, Cable Thai Holdings (CTH), GMM Grammy, and RS are also battling for EPL rights. According to online news platform The Nation, it was speculated that Bangkok Broadcasting and TV (BBTV), the operator of Channel 7, shares interest to join the bid.