Singapore-based telecom company, SingTel, acquired the internet rights for Italian football’s top-tier domestic league, Serie A, for its 'mio TV' IPTV service.
Under the deal, SingTel will show up to four live matches each weekend, commentary available in both English and Mandarin, as well as up to 40 hours of on-demand content per month. The company will launch a dedicated Serie A channel to carry the broadcast coverage, with access costing S$8 (US$ 5.39) per month as a standalone service, or included for free in the 'recommended' basic 25-channel SuperSaver package, which costs S$ 19.90 per month.
Mr Low Ka Hoe, Director of mio TV and Content, said: “We are very pleased to have acquired the rights to broadcast Serie A games as this is one of the most prestigious leagues in the world. Sports content is an important part of our offering, and this move signifies our ongoing efforts to expand and improve our selection of quality content for our viewers."
The new carriage rights are described a blow to local cable operator StarHub's dominance of Singapore's sports rights market. SingTel reported in its second quarter results that it had over 45,000 subscribers to its mio TV at the end of last June.
