Deepika Nikhilender, managing partner of Mindshare Group Singapore, an independent media research firm, told The Straits Times: 'In the short term, consumers will just have to bite the bullet of bearing the extra costs.'

But she also stressed that it is premature to slam SingTel's mio TV, which will carry Champions League and Uefa Cup coverage from 2009 to 2012, saying: 'It is still too early to comment on the impact SingTel's deal has had on the media landscape.

'We still do not know how the overall package will be priced. What's for sure is that the Champions League is a good acquisition by SingTel. It will increase the reach of their medium.'

Meanwhile, fans interviewed by The Straits Times have openly expressed their disappointment and disgust.

Allan Chan, a 62-year-old retiree, branded the move as 'crazy'.

He thundered: 'For $25, I can watch the English Premier League (EPL), La Liga and so many other sports on StarHub. I won't pay for mio TV. There's no guarantee that my favourite team, Chelsea, will go all the way.

'At least for the EPL, I know that Chelsea will be playing week-in, week-out.'

Erwin Wong, who works in the logistics industry, echoed similar sentiments.

The 26-year-old blasted: 'Absolutely ridiculous. We just have to pay and pay. What happened to the time when we could enjoy football for free? We have seen how StarHub raised prices over recent years. Now, we have to pay even more to install a mio TV box.'

Presently, fans pay $25 for StarHub's Sports Group (EPL, FA Cup, England internationals and Spanish League) on top of $24 for three Basic Groups.

From next year, viewers will need to fork out an additional $117.70 just to activate mio TV ($53.50 in installation charges and $64.20 for a phone modem).

Under SingTel regulations, mio TV customers must also spend a minimum of $16.05 monthly on its channels.

For drama teacher Adelynn Tan, she will boycott mio TV. The Liverpool fan said she will try to find alternative ways to track the Reds in Europe.

She said: 'The Champions League happens only from August to December, and from March to May. Do we have to pay for the months in between? It makes no sense to subscribe. I'll just have to find a 24-hour coffeeshop to get my fix.

'In fact, my neighbourhood coffeeshop even shows live matches on LCD television.'

But Wang Ming Qiang, 30, is not too optimistic that pubs and coffeeshops will take up mio TV.

The die-hard Arsenal fan said: 'This is a silly idea and a big inconvenience that hurts our pockets more than ever.

'I doubt many pubs and coffeeshops are going to sign up for this, as the games are in the middle of the night, when most food and beverage outlets are already closed.'

Meanwhile, StarHub has no plans on the horizon to slash subscription rates in the wake of SingTel's coup.

Adit Harinasuta, StarHub's head of services and solutions, said yesterday: 'The Champions League has historically been shown on ESPN and STAR Sports (ESS) at no additional cost to consumers.

'ESS is under no obligation to lower its charges to StarHub, although ESS did not retain the rights to the Champions League.

'StarHub's prices are related directly to content costs. Pay TV competition inevitably raises the cost of content.'

meng@sph.com.sg