References

Interview with Philip Goh, MediaCorp 938LIVE Sports reporter conducted on 7 June 2010

Interview with NoWorldCupThisYear conducted on 3 June 2010

Interview with Po Hui Ko, Singapore blogger, conducted on 29 May 2010

Meng W 2010, ‘Nearly 100 to join protest’, The Straits Times, 4 June.

Voon T, 2010, ‘Price Will Stay’, The New Paper.

Bennett S 2010, ‘SingTel, Starhub Face Revolt as World Cup Fees Surge’, Bloomberg Businessweek, 20 May, viewed 2 June 2010.

De Cotta I 2010, ‘Fussing over World Cup TV’, Today, 27 May.

Lee K 2010, ‘Singapore gets to watch 2010, but at what price?’ CNNGo, 13 May.

<http://www.cnngo.com/singapore/play/mrbrown-singapore-gets-world-cup-2010-538201&gt;

2010, ‘SingTel, Starhub Face Revolt’, The Straits Times, 20 May.

2010, ‘A World Cup for the red-green giants (only)’, The Online Citizen, 17 May, viewed 4 June 2010.

<http://theonlinecitizen.com/2010/05/world-cup-for-red-green-giants/&gt;

2010, ‘Hey SingTel! I’d rather pay for 64 cups of coffee and choke than pay you to watch World Cup’, The Straits Times Stomp, 9 May.

Najam A 2009, ‘SingTel Hits The Winning Formula and Zooms forward with EPL Acquisition’, Frost & Sullivan, viewed 4 June 2010,

<http://www.frost.com/prod/servlet/cio/182185671&gt;

2010, ‘FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010 Media Rights Licenses’, FIFA, viewed 4 June 2010,

<http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/affederation/tv/01/04/69/56/fifa_world_cup_2010_media_rights_licensee_list_public_release_20100222.pdf&gt;

Tan L 2010, ‘Starhub World Cup package will cost $160.50 for new subscribers’, Red Sports, 11 May.

Impact of social media

 

“Social media tools have facilitated silent Singaporeans to voice their opinions without risk. This could be a beginning of a new era for Singapore” – NWCTY

This case can set a trend for the future. Singaporeans now have an outlet to make change. Through social media such as Facebook, people’s social networks are unlimited. Before the social media explosion, it would have been highly unlikely to trust strangers over the Internet. However this blog has illustrated what can happen when thousands of strangers are brought together by a common goal.

According to self-proclaimed media futurist, Gerd Leonhard, the World Wide Web is less about information and more about conversation. This certainly rings true in this case study. John Chua believed there were more like-minded Singaporeans and Facebook was the most effective tool to reach these 29,000 (and counting) people.

It is impossible to quantify how SingTel and Starhub have been affected by social media at this point.

For one, it is not known whether they will break even or even make a profit. SingTel and Starhub have not lowered their subscription fees in a bid to break even but it is unlikely they will recover the costs through advertising and sponsors.

There will still be many football fanatics who will choose to subscribe despite the seven-fold increase in price. But the damage to the SingTel and Starhub’s brand is priceless. This has been a hot topic in Singapore for months now and has even been covered by international media. From now on SingTel and Starhub will be forced to carefully consider about bidding for future sporting events. It’s time to think about the consumer as well as profits.

Perhaps the 2014 World Cup broadcasting rights announcement will be a strong indication of whether social media has made a difference…

Future

For Singapore’s sake, hopefully the telecommunications companies get the message. Author of the football-based Singapore blog, BoLASEPaKO.com, Po Hui Ko, says the FIFA World Cup is an event that should have universal free television coverage. It’s hard to disagree with that considering the magnitude of the World Cup and especially when most countries have free coverage.

It is vital that the telecommunications companies learn from the public outcry. If the 28,220 (plus others who don’t have Facebook) people keep their commitment to boycott the World Cup, it’s difficult to see SingTel and Starhub getting anywhere near break even. Social media has the capacity to amplify support and make a statement by weight of numbers. SingTel and Starhub can’t compete with that.

Whether or not social media will play a dominant role in Singapore society remains to be seen but Singapore has taken a step in the right direction at the very least.

Other social media

 

“I have never seen this kind of activism from Singaporeans. We are a passive and obedient lot when it comes to things like politics and freedom. But football is life. No, I am sorry, football is MORE than life” – From a popular Singapore blog, ‘Mr Brown’

The World Cup broadcasting fiasco was open slather for discussion in the online community. The reaction from various blogs and citizen news websites was swift and equally scathing as the Facebook group.

Mainstream media

Although the mainstream press gave the issue solid coverage throughout, it was the blogs and citizen journalists that gave an accurate reflection of how the public were feeling.

Like SingTel and Starhub, the two major mainstream media organisations – Singapore Press Holdings and MediaCorp are government linked companies. Local media is highly regulated by the government. It is little wonder Singapore is ranked 133 out of 175 on the Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom index. With the high degree of self-censorship, there was always a limit to how critical local media could be towards the telecommunications companies.

Take this blog article  from the TODAY newspaper for example. Senior sports reporter, Ian De Cotta questions whether the members of the Facebook boycott group will actually carry out their promise:

 “Are they just doing the very Singaporean thing in bitching on anything and everything and just having fun doing so … and then sign up before match day?”

To De Cotta’s surprise, Singaporeans were made of sterner stuff.

Citizen journalism

In contrast, non mainstream media outlets such as Redsports were relentless in their scrutiny of SingTel and Starhub. The coverage from independent online news websites drew many comments and plaudits from frustrated football followers. Readers of websites such as Redsports became part of a wider public movement to bring shame on the rich telecommunications companies.

Leading citizen journalism website, The Online Citizen published a particularly thoughtful article. The article criticised the arrogance of the chief executives of SingTel and Starhub and discussed the worrying lack of transparency. More significantly, the football-loving public were urged to show solidarity against the cashed-up SingTel and Starhub.

“We can, for once, say enough is enough and take the road less travelled (in Singapore, at least) for once – boycott… the boycott would nevertheless drill the point through that consumers cannot be held ransom to ridiculous pricing, and that there are limits to abusing the willingness of fans to fork out a premium for their passion.”

Forums

For the thousands of Singaporeans who committed to boycotting SingTel and Starhub, there was still the small matter of gaining access to alternative World Cup coverage.

Specialist Internet forums such as the Hardware Zone attracted plenty of discussion about where to watch the World Cup. With so much input from the public, it was quickly established which bars and coffee shops would be showing the World Cup. People were happy to share their experiences of the various bars and restaurants in Singapore in order to help their Singaporeans fans out.

Many people took this a step further and suggested buying an antenna to watch the Malaysia or Indonesia networks broadcast. The most intricate details of which antenna to buy, how much it will cost and where to buy it from were available from forums such as the Hardware Zone. The effort and cost of buying the antenna may have cost more than $90, however clearly Singaporeans wanted to make a point.

There were also lots of online live streaming websites suggested. If anyone had a question, a tech-savvy football fan would be able respond within hours. This was citizen journalism at its most effective. It was about doing everything possible to spread the boycott far and wide. There also seemed to be a genuine willingness in the online community to help fellow football fans out without any favours in return.

Facebook

 

Two days after the World Cup broadcast rights had been secured, John Chua, started a Facebook group voicing his discontent at the expensive prices.

The ‘Mass Boycott Starhub/Singtel Overpriced World Cup Package’ group became an instant hit in the online community. At the time of writing there are more than 27,000 members who have committed to boycott Starhub and Singtel and cancel their existing subscriptions. Considering the telecommunications companies need 300,000 subscribers to break even, this is a substantial number. Particularly when factoring in the multiplier effect of friends, family and people who don’t have a Facebook account.

Such a rapid mobilisation of people is only possible through the use of social networking sites such as Facebook. John Chua’s Facebook group became a mini community for people to vent their frustration and discuss alternative ways to watch the World Cup. The group was also the one stop source for all media coverage.

 No World Cup This Year

Through the Facebook group, Singaporeans could say what they wanted. In an email interview with one of the group’s administrators, a member who wanted to be known as ‘NoWorldCupThisYear’ (NWCTY) said Singapore society is a “remarkably conservative and quiet one.”

“I think Facebook gave many of us opportunity to voice our feelings, concerns and anger. At least many of us believe we will not be reprimanded for such a non-political issue” – NWCTY

More importantly, in a society where questioning the established elite is extremely rare, NWCTY felt it was the right time for the public to stand up for their beliefs.

“This seemed like an opportunity to stand up against what represents the authority. This seems to be a minor matter but not for football fans” – NWCTY

While this was not an anti-government protest, it is significant that SingTel and Starhub are government linked companies. This was a civilised and well organised protest intended to hurt the telecommunications companies where it hurts most – their bottom line. 

Speakers Corner

The Facebook group’s influence culminated in the 2010 World Cup Fan Gathering at the Speakers Corner at Hong Lim Park on June 5.

The event was intended to be a celebration of Singaporean’s passion for football but also their united voice as consumers. Fans could mingle and discuss their passion for football and exchange tips about alternative ways to watch the World Cup. Participants were encouraged to wear football shirts and print out a red card from the Facebook group website. At the end of proceedings, fans took part in a giant Mexican wave showing the red card to SingTel and Starhub.

The Speakers Corner is the recognised and official location for public debate and demonstrations. In the conservative Singapore, the Speakers Corner is hardly used. For the venue to be used for a football-related concern speaks volumes about Singaporeans passion for the World Cup. It also illustrated how social media helped usually ambivalent Singaporeans to speak up.

Over 200 people attended and the event made prime time news as well as being covered by most mainstream media outlets. NWCTY doubts there will another protest during the World Cup however he did state there will plenty of gatherings to watch the World Cup together.  

One reporter from MediaCorp’s 938LIVE talk radio station, Philip Goh was not so impressed with the event.

“There were certainly not enough numbers to make a statement to the Telcos (telecommunications companies). And there was no word on whether the Telcos were invited to the event at all. On the day, there was a lack of clarity WHAT message they wanted to send to the Telcos… and there was no mention of how the Telcos will be made to pay for this folly” – Phil Goh.

Introduction

 

“They pay about a dollar a game to watch in the comfort of their homes. I think they can afford it. It is less than a cup of coffee” – Edward Ying, SingTel chief of content and media services.

“We negotiated hard for the World Cup rights for over a year, with the best interests of the nation at heart” – Tong Tan Hai, Starhub chief operating officer.

“It’s a clear case of exploitation pricing. They have no concern for the public even under this economy crisis and think that we will pay regardless” – John Chua, founder of ‘Mass Boycott of SingTel/Starhub’ Facebook group.

On May 7 2010, Singapore telecommunications companies, Starhub and SingTel announced they had clinched the broadcast rights to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Both companies would show all 64 matches live and in high definition across television, mobile and online platforms.

After tense negotiations with football world governing body, FIFA, it looked likely there wouldn’t be any World Cup coverage for the tiny but football-mad country.

The Singapore public should have been rejoicing. However for the first time, Singaporean citizens were not sucked in. The expensive subscription prices sparked an outrage that had never been seen before.

 World Cup Package pricing in Singapore

SingTel and Starhub would charge existing customers the ‘early bird’ price of $70.62 (Singapore dollars) before May 31^st. After this date, customers would have to pay $94.16 dollars. New customers would have to fork out between $160-206 dollars for the four-week World Cup package. Commercial establishments such as bars, restaurants and coffee shops will be charged up to $4,888 dollars to show the World Cup.

For the 2006 World Cup, Starhub charged consumers $10.50. The telecommunications companies refused to disclose the reasons for the sevenfold increase in the price or how much they paid for the broadcast rights due to confidentiality contracts.

 World Cup Package pricing around the world

To give this some global context, it is free to watch the World Cup in countries such as Australia, England, China and Indonesia.

Singapore’s neighbours, Malaysia and Hong Kong will not charge cable existing subscribers extra.

It will only cost $7 and $10 dollars respectively in India and Japan.

It is seven times more expensive to watch the World Cup in Singapore than anywhere else in the world. This is soon after the global financial crisis crippled so many working class Singaporean families.

It is little wonder Singaporeans are so disgruntled. They have clearly had enough. The solution was to make a statement through the only way possible – social media. The message was loud and clear: Singaporeans would boycott SingTel, Starhub and all related advertisers and sponsors.