The Singaporean government will not force pay-television sports broadcasters to lower their subscription prices, according to Yaacob Ibrahim, the city-state’s minister of information, communications and the arts.
The minister, responding to a member of parliament’s question, said that the government was aware of consumers’ concerns about rising subscription prices to sports channels, but added that regulations could lead to ‘unintended consequences,’ according to the Channel News Asia website.
The minister said that forcing broadcasters to drop their prices could make it more difficult for them to invest in technological innovations and acquire popular sports rights.
He added that the cost of acquiring sports rights, and in turn the prices customers have to pay for subscriptions to pay-television channels, would become more affordable once the broadcasters and sports content owners realised that “beyond a certain price level, they stand to lose more customers.”