Dear Editor,
When is free-to-air TV not free?
Answer: When SportsMax is allowed to buy the rights to the Winter Olympics and force anyone in Jamaica without a "satellite system", who wants to watch it, to subscribe to their service.
The arrangement with all cable providers in Jamaica is that they must block all free-to-air stations which are carrying the Olympics and can be accessed in Jamaica, for example NBC (US) and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).
To add insult to injury, in my view, it seems that the SportsMax feed is second rate in terms of broadcast personnel, their flair and knowledge.
My question, which I think goes to the heart of the matter though, is: How can this model be allowed to be perpetuated on us?
In the case of the two countries already mentioned, and I suspect most worldwide, what obtains is that the stations obtain the rights from the International Olympic Committee and then sell advertising at premium rates to recoup their investment. Then they present the packages with top-flight commentators and have a completely professional delivery. On the US and Canadian stations the commercial breaks are sometimes as entertaining to watch as the action itself. Just watch the Olympics coverage on SportsMax and see what happens when they take a break in the action? Five to seven minutes of mind-numbing promos.
This is too much and I, for one, would like to know if there is anyone in Jamaica, or outside of Jamaica, who can set me up with another package? Enough is enough.
Stephen Harrison
St Mary
stepharrison28@gmail.com
A travesty of Olympic proportions
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When is free-to-air TV not free?
Answer: When SportsMax is allowed to buy the rights to the Winter Olympics and force anyone in Jamaica without a "satellite system", who wants to watch it, to subscribe to their service.
The arrangement with all cable providers in Jamaica is that they must block all free-to-air stations which are carrying the Olympics and can be accessed in Jamaica, for example NBC (US) and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).
To add insult to injury, in my view, it seems that the SportsMax feed is second rate in terms of broadcast personnel, their flair and knowledge.
My question, which I think goes to the heart of the matter though, is: How can this model be allowed to be perpetuated on us?
In the case of the two countries already mentioned, and I suspect most worldwide, what obtains is that the stations obtain the rights from the International Olympic Committee and then sell advertising at premium rates to recoup their investment. Then they present the packages with top-flight commentators and have a completely professional delivery. On the US and Canadian stations the commercial breaks are sometimes as entertaining to watch as the action itself. Just watch the Olympics coverage on SportsMax and see what happens when they take a break in the action? Five to seven minutes of mind-numbing promos.
This is too much and I, for one, would like to know if there is anyone in Jamaica, or outside of Jamaica, who can set me up with another package? Enough is enough.
Stephen Harrison
St Mary
stepharrison28@gmail.com
A travesty of Olympic proportions
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