SINGAPORE: StarHub television subscribers might soon be unable to catch their favourite shows from nine channels under the Discovery Network as negotiations between the two companies have been "unsuccessful", the telco announced on its website.
Under an FAQ section on its website entitled "Cessation of Discovery Networks Channels", StarHub said that seven channels - Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Discovery Asia, Discovery Science, Eurosport and Setanta Sports - might no longer air from noon on Jun 30.
AdvertisementAdditionally, two more channels - the Asian Food Channel and Travel Channel - could cease transmission from noon on Aug 31.
On its website, StarHub said: "We worked hard to negotiate a deal which would allow Discovery and StarHub to continue our partnership while offering our customers the same content at a reasonable price.
"Unfortunately, at this juncture, as we are currently still unsuccessful in renewing the Discovery Networks suite of channels, these channels will cease transmission at 12pm on Jun 30 and Aug 31, respectively," the telco added.
For its customers who subscribe to the affected ala carte channels, StarHub said they will be given replacement channels. They will be informed in an official letter what these channels are.
AdvertisementAdvertisementHowever, the telco added that there will not be any replacement channels for customers who subscribe to the education or sports premium packages.
On whether customers can exit their TV contracts with the telco without any early termination charges following this development, StarHub said that it understands "the impact that the discontinuation of the channels may have" on customers and is "reviewing the matter".
NEGOTIATIONS STILL ONGOING: STARHUB
StarHub added that it is "working hard to negotiate a deal" which would allow it and Discovery to continue their partnership while offering customers "the same content at a reasonable price".
In an emailed response to queries from Channel NewsAsia on Wednesday (Jun 6), a StarHub spokesperson confirmed that negotiations are still ongoing.
Additionally, the spokesperson said that StarHub will be offering customers who subscribe to its lifestyle and/or education basic group S$4 off their TV subscription for three months.
The spokesperson added that all StarHub TV customers will also get a free preview of over 30 channels from the news, kids, education entertainment and lifestyle groups, from Jun 11 to Jul 15.
"From mid-June 2018, we will reach out progressively to customers subscribed to the education and/or lifestyle basic groups with letters to update them on the situation.
"If Discovery and StarHub have not reached an agreement by then, we will provide information on the new channels to be launched. We have carefully curated quality replacement channels, and hope that our customers will give the new channels a chance, to enjoy them and see if they are happy to continue viewing them," StarHub said.
Meanwhile, Discovery Network acknowledged on its website that its viewers could no longer be able to watch its channels on StarHub after the announced dates.
The network said: "This action is not one we take lightly and we apologise to all our loyal and passionate fans for the inconvenience.
"In our negotiations with all our partners, we seek to obtain a fair price for the value of our channels. Unfortunately, we were not able to achieve this with StarHub, and as such StarHub has announced their decision to discontinue the channels offered by Discovery, on both StarHub TV and StarHub Go."
However, the network added that it hopes to resume discussions with StarHub and encouraged StarHub customers to "voice support for their favourite Discovery channels and programmes".
Channel NewsAsia has reached out to Discovery Network for its comments on the matter.
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