SINGAPORE — StarHub will announce a new and simplified plan for fans of the Barclays Premier League (BPL) “very soon”, hoping to woo customers from rival SingTel.

At its second-quarter results briefing yesterday, StarHub Chief Marketing Officer Jeannie Ong said: “We have heard the customer feedback and are working hard to simplify things for them very soon.

“We are mindful that Monday is the absolute deadline to sign up for BPL to be cross-carried on our TV platform for those who want to watch the opening matches on Aug 17 (five working days are needed for cross-carriage provisioning). Stay tuned.”

StarHub had earlier offered a S$300 rebate if customers sign up or re-contract for one of its two Surf & Watch bundles and register for BPL content to be cross-carried on its platforms.

When asked if the company is confident that its strategy will work to entice subscribers, Chief Finance Officer Nicholas Tan said it is, “as best as we can be”.

“Of course, we hope that we would get additional subscribers,” he added, reiterating that StarHub did not anticipate any direct financial impact from the cross-carriage of the BPL.

It is out of goodwill that the company wants to “return the cross-carriage fee” it would receive and benefit subscribers, he said.

Ms Ong added: “What we’re trying to do is try to convince customers to come back to the real bros, as what our Come Home To The Real Bros campaign has stated — because of the goodwill that we’ve given to our customers. So hopefully, they will come back to the more reliable network.”

The company reported a 15.9-per-cent increase in second-quarter net profit to S$100.6 million from the corresponding period a year earlier, mainly due to the adoption grant for Next Gen Nationwide Broadband Network connections and lower operating expenses.

However, operating revenue for the three months ended June 30 was down 0.7 per cent at S$586.8 million as handset sales fell.

StarHub, Singapore’s second-largest telco, expects revenue to grow in the low single-digit this year.