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Saturday November 21, 2009

Rohana: Quantum hike in sports package hasn’t been determined


ASTRO will try to make its sports package the best proposition in the region in terms of pricing, says Astro TV chief executive officer Datuk Rohana Rozhan.

Astro has secured the rights to the Barclays Premier League (BPL) matches for the next three seasons, to start in August next year. This has led to speculation as to how much more Astro would charge for its sports package.

Rohana tells StarBizWeek that the quantum hike in the sports package hasn’t been determined.

“Nothing is stand-alone. We have to look at market forces, our customer base, the capacity to pay and demand for the product. We have to benchmark against other countries. So it’s a dynamic consideration. At the end of the day, we have to do what’s right for this marketplace.

“The BPL is a commodity that has a minimum price attached. Astro negotiated the best price for the Malaysian market and one of Astro’s promises is to try to make it comparatively the best proposition in the region, if not the world, in terms of sports pricing. We will live up to that,” she says.

Rohana says it requires a fine balancing act. “We can’t push up the price (of the sports package) where 70% of our customers are because we might not get the full impact and they might give up some of the other channels. Again, market forces come into play. But then, we also have to manage our content cost against the revenue earned.”

On the forecast growth of its subscriber base, which totals 2.8 million, she says Astro expected 250,000 to 350,000 net adds this year.

“We’ve continued to see strong demand despite the downturn. Our lowest package costs RM37.95 (per month). Only 30% of the new subscribers took it, while the rest pay higher. The average revenue per user (ARPU) this year is about RM60, which means that most of our customers are still going for the higher-priced packages. So ours is an affordable service,” she says, adding that Astro sees strong demand continuing next year.

The ARPU of its overall subscribers is RM82.

On the threat of piracy, she says Astro and all pay TV operators globally aim to make legitimate content easily available and more flexible than its illegal counterpart.

“Throughout 2010 Astro will become more integrated with on-demand delivery of content not only via the set-top box but also to the PC, mobile and other devices,” says Rohana.

Astro recently won a major regional recognition – the Chairman’s Award from the Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) chairman Marcel Fenez in Hong Kong.

“CASBAA comprises the who’s who in the pay TV business in Asia-Pacific, from content providers and technology providers to pay TV platforms. Each is asked to vote. That’s why this award is particularly special to us,” says Rohana, who accepted the award in Hong Kong.

“Being 13 years old and almost at 50% household penetration in Malaysia, we feel that receiving this award is a recognition of the whole industry in Asia-Pacific, and of each member of Astro.”

Astro beat four other nominees, including the Australian police force which was nominated for successful prosecutions of pirate distributors of unauthorised equipment, and Discovery Networks Asia, which was nominated for its long-term commitment to HD across the region. Astro was chosen for “consistently growing revenue in a challenging market.”

 
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