The controversy over pay-TV operator PT Astro Direct Vision's exclusive right to broadcast the English Premier League in Indonesia boils down to this question: Is watching English soccer a right or a privilege?
Soccer fans have experienced a range of emotions since learning last month they would have to pay to watch matches from the EPL, the acronym used here (though not in England) to refer to the most-watched soccer league in Indonesia.
If watching the EPL is considered an inalienable right of every citizen, as some people would have it, then Astro does not have the power to prevent those who do not subscribe to its service from watching matches.
Astro would have to share the broadcasting rights for the EPL with free-to-air stations, which reach a much larger audience.
Surprisingly, no one has invoked Article 33 (2) of the 1945 Constitution, which states: "Branches of (economic) production which are important for the state and which affect the lives of most people shall be controlled by the state."
The EPL could be considered a branch of production that affects the lives of most people, very much like education, healthcare, housing and the supply of clean water.
Going by this claim, then the EPL should be broadcast by TVRI, the public broadcasting company, because it has the widest reach of any station in the country.
If, on the other hand, watching the EPL is a privilege, then Astro has every right to deny those who do not subscribe to its services access to the matches. This has been the case since the Malaysia-based pay-TV company acquired the broadcasting rights for the EPL beginning in August, when the 2007/8 league kicked off.
The EPL is the most popular of all the European domestic soccer leagues. None of its nearest rivals, the Italian Serie A, Spanish La Liga or the German Bundesliga, command as many viewers in here.
The most popular is also the most lucrative. Not surprisingly, since the advent of commercial TV in Indonesia in the 1990s, the English soccer league has changed stations almost every year, but always among the 10 or so free-to-air stations.
Virtually all the EPL matches are broadcast live, not just on the weekend, but also during the week. The six or seven-hour time difference between Indonesia and England suits the schedules of Indonesian TV stations, though not necessary those of fans who have to stay up late (or get up in the morning, as the case may be) to watch their favorite teams play.
With most matches broadcast well into the night, after restrictions on cigarette ads are lifted, the EPL is a hugely successful commercial venture for whichever station holds the right to broadcast it in Indonesia.
Enter the pay-television era, particularly Astro this year.
When the license to broadcast the EPL fell into the hands of this new but aggressive pay-TV operator, it made sure it had the exclusive rights in Indonesia.
Even subscribers of other cable TV services, who had watched the EPL through ESPN and Star Sports, now get baseball or rugby in place of the usual English soccer games.
As popular as the EPL is, it is hard to make a case that it should be made available to more people for free. Precisely, its popularity makes it a very lucrative business proposition for whoever holds the license. There are people who are willing to pay for the privilege.
We all lived for years without watching English soccer. Then in the 1990s the matches began to be broadcast regularly into our living rooms and now many of us are hooked, glued to the box every Saturday and Sunday night during the season.
Now some of us believe it is our inalienable right to watch the EPL as soon as we learned we would have to start paying for the privilege.
Those who refuse to pay can always turn to other European soccer leagues broadcast by free-to-air stations. The Dutch league does not sound all that bad, considering our historical connection with the Netherlands.
Besides, many of the talents who play for English clubs started their career in the Netherlands. But we should be careful not to overdo it; pretty soon, we might have to start paying to watch the Dutch league as well.
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