Singtel’s group chief executive, Yuen Kuan Moon, has effectively quashed any remaining hopes of the telco’s return to its former involvement in video entertainment – including mega-spend on sports rights – in Singapore, saying at APOS 2021 that sweeping changes over the past 10 years had necessitated a rethink.

At the same time, “if you have the relationship with the end user you will always have a role to play [in content]… We believe we continue to have a role in terms of distribution,” he told delegates at the online event.

“The key question is about aggregation” and how Singtel could leverage its long and deep relationship with local consumers, he said.

“If there is no role [for us] in aggregation, is there a new way of engaging the customer as a telco?” he asked.

“We provide the connectivity, but that doesn’t mean we are a dumb pipe,” he said, highlighting the telco’s rich consumer insights and saying that the question of telcos' role in the future of content is one that “the industry needs to come together” to discuss.

“Do you want to work with us in terms of relationship in engaging the customer or just as a conduit for distribution? If it’s the latter, then the relationship is diminished. But if it is the former, then I think we have a lot of value to provide,” he said.

“We know a lot about our customers in terms of their intent, their preferences and the way they want their content to be delivered to them,” Yuen said.

He also said Singtel’s involvement in content a decade ago was as an add-on to its connectivity business and part of a complete quad-play strategy.

“That strategy worked well for us because we continued to use the pay-TV business to develop stronger relationships with our customers in the consumer space in Singapore,” he said.

“Now, with hindsight, the landscape has changed tremendously... We have seen a lot more focus on vertical integration in the form of the big streaming providers like Netflix and Disney plus and all the other OTT players who are looking at it in a totally different manner,” he said.

MPA data shows Netflix and Disney+ ended Q1 2021 with 700,000 subscribers, with Disney+’s distribution boosted by an exclusive distribution deal with Singtel rival StarHub.

“I would say the only thing that has not changed that much are … live sports and news,” Yuen said.

While there was “always a certain demand for live sports in every country, the question is what price you want to pay for carrying that content and what is the value you can create”.

“In the past, when we were looking at a traditional connectivity with quad play, it made a lot of sense to invest in sports to create that quadplay, which is what we did. And we became the biggest provider… [now] It has served its purpose,” he said, adding that live sports had “not found its spot on reaching end-users directly” and en masse.

”We will need to solve that problem and are happy to work with live sports providers to see how to crack the problem together,” he said.