Boob tube's for rubes as pay-TV loses its lustre

PAY-TELEVISION is struggling to reinvent itself for the new millennium.

And the challenge, as Singapore's triple-play telcos realise, is not just one for pay-TV alone. The days of the boob tube have come and gone; video streaming is now the true contender.

It's not just about adapting to changing habits. There is a practical, bottom-line reason for telcos to ramp up their streaming offerings: selling mobile wireless data. It is no different from why they offered pay-TV in the first place, which was to hawk cable (now fibre) broadband lines.