When StarHub announced the appointment of Ayush Sharma as CTO – transformation and product, from 1 June, the Singapore platform sent yet another signal to the market about its dogged commitment to a digital future – come hell or high water.

On Wednesday this week, StarHub will follow up, unveiling its Premier League consumer offering about three months after snatching rights from rival Singtel. By some accounts (including its own, which don’t count yet), StarHub plans to mesmerise sports fans, going above and beyond anything offered before in the country in the name of premium services.  

In the coming weeks, StarHub will be talking about its StarHub TV+ app for Android TV sets, featuring a new user interface that will, if it works out as planned, allow customers to switch seamlessly between different content. 

StarHub says the new app, which aggregates and merges all sources of content, will make life a whole lot more simple for customers. The promise is near-instant navigation between live channels, VOD and OTT services without needing a set-top box. 

“This is unmatched convenience, to truly give customers full control of their viewing experience,” StarHub told ContentAsia for this story.  

In the old days, that would have been a lot easier to dismiss as more talk from people who never actually had to call their own helpline. But there’s this: In the past few months alone, StarHub has gone big on change. The legacy platform has adjusted its entertainment proposition, reworked channels and packages, repositioned bundles, among other upgrades to its entertainment experience... all in the name of its five-year “dare+” transformation strategy that is bearing fruit, according to the listed company’s earnings reports.  

StarHub is not the only old platform in Southeast Asia/Hong Kong scrambling (and sometimes managing) to woo and win paying customers...  and then keep them happy.  

In Hong Kong, HKT-owned pay-TV operator Now TV introduced a smart box a couple of weeks ago.

The box has built-in voice-activated functions in Cantonese and English, pre-loaded streaming apps, and a range of options that extend beyond entertainment to, for instance, the ability to control lights, air-con and home security. 

The new system is, says HKT home MD, Derek Choi, “an all-in-one home companion”. Choi also talks about keeping a constant eye on emerging tech, and about continually exploring gadgets with the potential to enhance the entertainment experience. 

In Malaysia, pay-TV incumbent Astro has also been on a mission to please, not least adding streaming services, becoming a full internet service provider in May with its own standalone fibre broadband service, and expanding hardware/box options. 

During the standalone broadband launch, Euan Smith, Astro’s CEO of TV and Group COO, talked about an “all-new Astro experience”, about “giving customers what they’ve been asking for – all their favourite entertainment... all in one place” on whatever screen. Smith also talked about Astro’s previous bundled TV/broadband options, which led to a 58% increase in the platform’s customer base year-on-year.  

In Indonesia, MNC’s streaming platform, Vision+, went big on audio and video quality for new music original, Orkes, at the end of May. 

The show, which streamed in Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision, kicked off the next phase in the Indonesian platform’s digital entertainment ambitions.

At the launch, Vision+ made much of being the first OTT platform in Indonesia to adopt Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos.

Vision+ MD, Clarissa Tanoesoedibjo, says the platform is looking at how to include “these standards across the rest of our product and platform offerings”.

The Philippines’ Sky Cable hasn’t followed its neighbours into these kinds of spaces – yet. But, if there’s nothing to announce right now, Sky Cable Corporation’s consumer group business unit head, Jaja Suarez, isn’t ruling anything out.  

If not all at the same speed, the shift to smarter ways of thinking and doing is clearly infectious. Is it enough for legacy platforms to claw their way back into a sexy story for consumers? No harm living in hope.