SingTel TV vs StarHub TV: Which TV Package Should You Get?

I remember having fewer headaches when StarHub was the only one providing paid TV back then.

Now that Singtel TV has unpleasantly disrupted the market, which will be the suitable paid TV plan for you?

Key Takeaways

• Both SingTel TV and StarHub TV do not offer any identical package to differentiate their products for consumers.
• General/ Family Package: SingTel TV provides a general cheaper package at S$28.80 per month compared to S$33.17 by StarHub TV.
• Genre-specific packages with basic channels:
  StarHub TV has a price competitive advantage when it comes to Malay specific package. They are also the only one providing Lifestyle, Hindi and Filipino package.
  SingTel TV is cheaper for the rest of the genre such as Tamil, Chinese and Movies package. They are the only one providing World sports package too.
• Genre-specific packages without basic channels:
  StarHub d’Lite’s range of 12-month contract and no-contract package is the cheapest in the 5 genres they provide.
  SingTel TV  provides 10 such packages.
• For Barclay’s Premier League fans looking for a holistic paid TV package, only SingTel TV has such value packs available.

Further reading – SingTel TV vs StarHub TV

While it is to the service providers’ advantage to make their packages as differentiated and confusing as possible, it is up to consumers to make an informed decision with regards to their service.

Basically paid TV packages are broken down into two main category

• General package which gives one a variety of channels to give consumers an all-rounded package
• Specific genre package where it consists of more channels from one specific genre for consumers who knows what they are interested in

Starhub TV vs SingTel TV Family Starter (General)

• The StarHub HD packs and SingTel TV Family Starter Packs are their range of basic package.
• All StarHub subscription comes with FreeView Channels package consisting of 14 channels.
• There is a 24-month subscription contract for both.

StarHub TV vs SingTel TV (Genre-Specific)

One has two option when it comes to genre-specific subscription. This is for consumers who know what their main interest lies in, eg. Chinese entertainment.

A consumer can either choose to

• Subscribe to an add-on on top of the basic channels
• Simple subscribe only to channels belonging to the genre

SingTel TV vs StarHub TV (Genre-specific with basic channels)

Here’s a cost comparison for packages which are genre-specific, with basic channels:

*Price of StarHub includes set-up box rental cost of S$6.42/month

*Price of SingTel includes set-up box rental cost of S$4.90/month and we use the cheapest option of family basic channels for calculation.

SingTel TV vs StarHub TV (Genre-specific without basic channels)

• StarHub TV d’Lite provides genre specific entertainment, without the basic channels.
• StarHub TV d’Lite allows a consumer to embark on a 12-month contract or no contract.
• StarHub TV d’Lite only consists of 5 genres: Tamil, Sports, Chinese, Movies and Malay
• SingTel TV provides a 24-month contract genre specific entertainment package to challenge StarHub TV in this area.
• SingTel TV consists of 10 different genres including their Barclay Premier League’s package.

If Barclay Premier league is life!

• SingTel TV (Value Packs)
• Value Packs provided by Singtel is to create a combination of channels together with mio Stadium+. This is specifically targetted at Barclay Premier League football fans who are looking to get their genre-specific dose of TV entertainment.

Conclusion – Making better financial decision

• Finding out your TV preference can help you save money. Eg. if you are not a fan of basic channels, going on a genre-specific package can save you a lot of money.
• For millennials, they prefer to have full control over the content they watch, which makes platforms like Netflix more popular.
• Plus, Netflix is a lot cheaper compared to paid TV services
  source: Netflix
• As long as SingTel holds a monopoly on Barclay’s Premier League rights with little intervention from the government, it will always be a disadvantage on Barclay Premier League football fans.