Protecting consumers and the public is an important objective under MDA’s regulatory remit. This year saw MDA implementing more measures to protect consumers while safeguarding public interests and community mores.
The Cross-Carriage Measure (Measure) is aimed at addressing content fragmentation in the pay-TV market. Under the cross-carriage regime, pay-TV retailers who acquire any exclusive content on or after 12 March 2010 must offer that content to subscribers through the set-top boxes of other qualified pay-TV retailers.
The Measure has been successful in achieving its intended objective. Today, there are over 60 common channels which include entertainment and sports channels such as Celestial Movies, National Geographic Channel, Fox Sports and STAR Sports. Furthermore, pay-TV retailers have shifted their strategy to compete for subscribers based on value-added services, such as mobile apps that allow subscribers to watch TV on the go.
In 2013, MDA issued a direction to SingNet requiring that the 2013/14 – 2015/16 seasons of the Barclays Premier League be cross-carried on the StarHub platform, as its agreement with the Football Association Premier League contained clauses that prevent or restrict or are likely to prevent or restrict the same content from being acquired by other parties. MDA’s direction was upheld by the Minister for Communications and Information following SingNet’s appeal.
Under the mandate to protect consumer and community interests, MDA issued a notice to Internet Service Providers to block Ashley Madison on 8 November 2013, as a statement of the types of content that the community objects to. MDA had assessed that it would be against the public interest to allow Ashley Madison to operate and promote its website in flagrant disregard of Singapore’s family values and public morality, as the site aggressively promotes and facilitates extramarital affairs and had declared that it will specifically target Singaporeans. The move was met with strong support from members of the public, who urged the Government to take a clear stance against websites such as Ashley Madison.
In the year in review, MDA also looked into 101 Licensing, Content and Media Market Conduct Code breaches. The most significant was the island-wide nine-hour Mio TV service disruption on 15 May 2013, which affected some 26,000 households. As investigations revealed that the disruption was caused by SingNet’s negligence in routine maintenance activities, it was fined S$220,000.