StarHub Drops Discovery Channels

After failing to reach a new carriage deal, StarHub in Singapore says it is dropping the suite of Discovery channels from its platform in the coming weeks.

The removal will happen in two phases, StarHub says. Subscribers will lose access to the flagship Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, TLC, Discovery Asia, Discovery Science, Eurosport and Setanta Sports after June 30 and then Asian Food Channel, Food Network, HGTV and Travel Channel after August 31. StarHub will offer bill rebates to customers subscribed to the Education and/or Lifestyle Basic Groups that included these services.

StarHub is adding seven new channels to its platform—CuriosityStream HD, Travelxp HD, Gusto TV HD, Makeful HD, GEM HD, Fight Sports HD and Colors Tamil HD–in the coming months.

Lee Soo Hui, the head of the content business unit at StarHub, commented, “We always work towards meeting our customers’ entertainment needs and minimizing any inconvenience to them. Hence, we are disappointed that we were not able to reach an agreement with Discovery. Our firm belief is that quality content should come at a sensible price, without our customers having to bear unsustainable increase in costs.”

The channel additions feature a “strong mix of education, lifestyle, entertainment, sports and Asian content,” Lee said. CuriosityStream, Travelxp, Gusto TV and Makeful “were handpicked as they are enjoying growing viewership and popularity in overseas markets and we are confident that they can repeat this success with our customers. As this marks the debut of some of these channels in Asia, we are thrilled that StarHub TV customers will be the first in the region to experience and enjoy their unique content.”
 
With the loss of Eurosport and Setanta Sports, StarHub says it is acquiring more content for its in-house Hub Sports channels
 
“We would like to thank our customers for their patience over the past few weeks,” Lee added. “The team has worked tirelessly to secure seven brand new channels in a short span of time and we sincerely hope that our customers will give these new channels a chance and discover their unique appeal. All seven new channels will be added to their respective subscription groups at no additional cost to our customers. We are not stopping here and will share news of more new channels in the pipeline.”