Thursday, 29 October 2009

Misleading label on food packaging

I just saw the advertisement of one famous fresh milk brand. On the pack, it is stated that "Trans fat Free". Maybe consumer would think that this brand is healthier and buy their product? Do you know that very little trans fat exist in natural product?

Transfat is produced by hydrogenating the oil to make it more stable. In this way, the food could last longer, e.g. baked products. Only in these few years, more people pay attention to the danger of consuming product with trans fat. I think the manufacturer is trying to gain point by stating their product is free of cholesterol, trans fat etc, despite the fact that these substance might not exist naturally at all. Same situation happen for peanut butter with "no cholesterol" label. It doesn't exist in the first place.

Saturday, 3 October 2009

Singtel win EPL telecast right for next 3 years, the implication

Looking at the response on the news so far, I guess not only I am surprised and worried about the incident(although I don't have starhub cable). The consensus is it is bad for consumer.

On the hardware,
You have to install both starhub cable set top box and mio tv box. You also have to juggle between the remote controls.

On competition,
It is definitely bad competition. A competition that does not benefit anyone, except the EPL telecast owner. Starhub would lose subscriber, Singtel lose money to lure subscriber, consumer pay the extra cost. Because they got the exclusive right, consumer is held to ransom, maybe not now but in the next few years. Somebody has to pay the bill right

On regulation,
MDA says they would look into the matter, but I doubt anything would be done on this. This is ultimately commercial decision, and it is free competition world. But, really, consumer would not benefit.

On future,
Judging at the public outcry, Singtel would keep the cost on par with old starhub fee for the moment. Then, gradually increase the price over the years. Another way is they use other way to milk the consumer. At the end of the day, somebody has to pay for it and it would be consumer. The overall cost would go up slightly, if you still want your existing starhub and you have to pay for the mio tv also. Of course, if you don't watch soccer, then congratulations, you are not part of the equation.

Overall, something has to be done to stop this unhealthy "competition".

Thursday, 1 October 2009

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.

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