Singapore’s Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) has decided not to grant a stay of MDA’s direction after SingNet Pte Ltd applied for a stay of the Media Development Authority of Singapore’s (MDA)  to cross-carry the Barclays Premier League (BPL) live matches on April 26, 2013 over three seasons from 2013/2014 to 2015/2016 . SingNet will be required to continue its efforts in making the necessary arrangements to cross-carry the upcoming BPL season in view of its application for a stay in MDA’s direction has not been granted, currently pending the appeal decision.

In response to MCI’s decision, Jeannie Ong, Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications & Investor Relations, StarHub commented, “StarHub is heartened that the Minister has rightly decided not to grant a “stay of implementation” on MDA’s cross-carriage decision. Considerable time is needed to prepare for cross-carriage, including the laying of fibre, purchase and testing of new equipment, testing and delivery of broadcast signals, and provisioning to customers. A delay in implementation would have made it operationally impossible for the BPL content to be cross-carried in time for kick-off on 17 August 2013.” 

“StarHub is committed to comply with the Minister’s decision and MDA’s direction, and will continue our preparations for the cross-carriage of the next BPL season. Time is of the essence. We have an existing cross-carriage agreement which worked well for the broadcast of UEFA EURO 2012 and we hope that all parties can work in good faith to ensure that cross-carriage of BPL can be implemented smoothly for the benefit of Singapore viewers. We look forward to broadcasting BPL to viewers on our reliable network,” adds Ong.