UNCLAS SINGAPORE 001484

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE PASS USTR FOR AUSTR BWEISEL, JJENSEN, AND JMCHALE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECPS EIND EINV ETRD SN
SUBJECT: REGULATOR WILL NOT RESTRICT MEDIA CONTENT EXCLUSIVITY
AGREEMENTS

REFS: A) SINGAPORE 946 B) SINGAPORE 1119 C) SINGAPORE 1205


1. (SBU) In a victory for U.S. content providers, the Media
Development Authority (MDA) on May 8 announced privately its
decision to not pursue more restrictive regulation of exclusive
carriage agreements between media content/channel providers and
Singapore's sole Pay-TV operator, SCV StarHub Cable Vision.


2. (SBU) In a closed-door meeting that content provider
representatives and econoff attended, MDA said that its decision
was based on careful review of local market conditions, in
accordance with Singapore's Media Market Conduct Code, and
comparisons with international best practices. MDA plans to
publicly announce its decision later this week, possibly on May

10.


3. (SBU) Citing procedural reasons, the Minister for
Communications, Information, and the Arts in March overruled an
earlier decision by MDA to more tightly regulate such agreements,
but left the door open for future moves in this direction (ref
A).

FERGIN