SINGAPORE - Football fans in Singapore, who have been forced to pay ever higher prices to watch major competitions like the World Cup and European Championship in recent years, are in for a pleasant surprise.
Yesterday, Singtel and StarHub announced that they had partnered on-demand streaming service LiveNow to secure broadcast rights in Singapore for Euro 2020 and the cost of catching the June 11 to July 11 tournament has dropped from the 2016 edition.
Early birds need to pay only a one-time charge of $83 on Singtel, $84 on StarHub and $88 on LiveNow if they sign up before June 1. After that, charges are $93 (Singtel), $94 (StarHub) and $98 (LiveNow). All prices are inclusive of GST.
The telcos' latest pricing is a decrease from 2016, when it was $88.
Singtel's customers can purchase the Euro 2020 a la carte pack on Singtel TV from tomorrow.
Those who sign up or renew their Singtel TV Value and Ultimate packs from tomorrow can enjoy all 51 Euro matches live for free on LiveNow channels on Singtel TV.
The action is also available on Singtel Cast to all consumers, including non-Singtel customers, to stream on LiveNow.
Anna Yip, Singtel's chief executive officer of consumer, Singapore, said: "We know football fans can hardly contain their excitement after a year-long wait. As Singapore's home of football, we are proud to bring European football's greatest tournament to our customers in Singapore."
StarHub's customers, who can sign up from today, will be able to watch matches through the official LiveNow app, which can be cast onto TV screens. The app will be available for download on iOS and Android phones, certain Smart TVs and through StarHub TV+ box.
In addition, they will be entitled to one voucher that will allow them to redeem one non-sports event on LiveNow at no extra cost. Non-sports events on LiveNow include live music concerts, fitness workouts, stand-up comedy and more.
"Football fans have been steeped in anticipation for this event, and we are always excited to deliver content that our customers love and look forward to," said Johan Buse, chief of StarHub's consumer business group.
More information is available on the telcos' websites.
LiveNow said that it will broadcast all 51 matches live, across the mobile phone, tablet, TV and PC platforms. Its coverage will be available directly from the LiveNow website. Also available exclusively on its platform will be Uefa-produced content, including the official daily highlights programme.
Peter Leible, LiveNow's head of sport, said: "For the first time ever in Singapore, one of the world's great football tournaments is set to be offered exclusively on OTT.
"Singapore - with its high levels of Internet penetration, sophisticated user base and passion for football - makes it the ideal place for LiveNow to launch its Euro 2020 service."
Mohamed Khabir, who supports the Spain national team, welcomed the news that the cost of viewing the tournament had come down for fans.
He said: "Besides the World Cup, the European Championship is a tournament that I look forward to and I'm glad that we have a variety of options to catch the action.
"I am sure I am not alone in expecting the price of the package to be increased, so this is really good news for us fans."
Euro 2020 was postponed by a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The tournament kicks off with Turkey taking on Italy on June 12 at 3am (Singapore time). Matches will air live at 9pm, midnight and 3am until July 12.
