CASBAA urges rethink of cross-carriage rules

SINGAPORE - The Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA), reiterated that the Media Development Authority’s new regulations remain contrary to the interests of Singapore’s pay-TV subscribers and the industry at large.

Simon Twiston Davies, CEO, CASBAA
Simon Twiston Davies, CEO, CASBAA

The Media Development Authority (MDA) had come into the news for postponing the enforcement of its media content code, which mandated cross-carriage of TV content on rival platforms StarHub TV and SingTel mio TV.

In its news release, CASBAA said that these regulations will supress incentive for content innovation and particularly damage the business of “marquee pay-TV programming, which by its nature is expensive to produce or acquire.”

It further stated that constant regulatory fine tuning can be expected with significantly enlarged state interventions, which urged the Government of Singapore to revoke changes in the Media Conduct Code that impose the “cross-carriage system”. 

CASBAA, which represents the pay-TV industry across 16 Asian markets, said the proposed regulations are damaging to Singapore’s hard-won role as a regional content hub.

“Content owners, who have used Singapore as a regional base for more than 15 years, consider the new rules very harmful to the country’s reputation for protecting intellectual property rights holders,” said Simon Twiston Davies, CASBAA CEO.

Drawing on advice from global trade and intellectual property rights specialists Greenberg Traurig, which represents the International Intellectual Property Association in Washington, CASBAA concluded that the new rules remain inconsistent with Singapore’s international treaty obligations.

“These are regulations that will not work for Singapore and would be even more destructive in other jurisdictions,” added Twiston Davies.

Related Articles

Just Published

7 hours ago

October advertiser of the month: 7-Eleven

Doraemon boosts 7-Eleven Thailand's ad awareness by double digits in October, outperforming competitors, new data shows.

7 hours ago

How Trump's presidency will reshape the global tech ...

The US is not an island. Trump's policies will have far-reaching consequences for the global tech ecosystem, with Asia-Pacific feeling the impact acutely, writes Ian Whittaker.

8 hours ago

Malaysia's FashionValet faces corruption probe ...

Malaysia's Anti-Corruption Commission has officially opened an investigation into the US$10 million loss of state funds invested in the local fashion ecommerce platform.

8 hours ago

Move and win roundup: Week of November 11, 2024

Virtue, OpenX, Emotive, Karma Drinks, HOVERAir, APRW, Canara Bank, and more in our weekly roundup of people moves and account wins.