When competition causes price to go up

Singtel won the right to telecast English Premier League (EPL) for the next three seasons. The soccer fan can look forward to some price increase, despite Singtel saying the price would be kept affordable and comparable to last time.

Over the years, EPL has grown as a money spinner. The club keep splashing money to buy star players and increase the attractiveness of their game play. This help them to sell more shirt and TV broadcasting right. More fans are attracted to the EPL which keep up the demand for live game telecast. The pay TV operator buy the exclusive telecast right to lock in the subscriber. However, at the end of the day, it is the soccer fans who are financing all these.

The two pay TV operator compete for the exclusive right to air the live soccer match, so they raised their bid. Once they won the bid, the fans are made to pay for it. This is a special case where competition does not introduce cheaper service. The more intense the competition, the more you need to pay for future viewing right.