Football fans will be able to watch the new season of English Premier League (EPL) round the clock from Aug 11.

StarHub yesterday announced that its new Football Channel will be dedicated solely to the EPL, replacing ESPN and StarSports, the two channels that have been giving Singaporeans their premiership fix for the last six years.

Instead of John Dykes, Jamie Reeves and Shebby Singh giving their two cents' worth, EPL fans will get pre- and post-match studio shows that are co-produced by Hong Kong-based Goal TV and Dubai's Ten Sports. Transworld International will continue providing the feed for the live matches and magazine shows.

It remains to be seen though, how one channel will do the job of two, given the 380 EPL matches on offer each season. Previously, ESPN and StarSports would often each telecast a different match simultaneously, giving viewers a choice. This may no longer be possible with just one channel.

In response to a query from The Straits Times on whether more channels will be set up to cope with the number of matches, Starhub said it will announce more details soon.

While ESPN and StarSports will continue to be offered to StarHub's sports package subscribers, they are likely to come without EPL content. Meanwhile, subscribers are still waiting to find out how the cable TV provider will provide value for money with the higher rates they will have to pay. Come October, subscribers will have to pay $25 - a $10 increase.

Last November, Starhub outbid ESPN StarSports and Singtel for the exclusive right to telecast EPL matches. The three-year deal is believed to have cost $246 million.