I subscribe not only to the newspaper but also to cable TV here in Thailand. I have noticed a definite decline in the quality and choice of the programmes (but the subscription price hasn’t gone down).
Recently, a quick run through the roughly 20 sports channels on offer with the package I bought (the second best) turned up eight football games and two snooker (snoozer?) channels, with the rest a mishmash of “sports”, some quite obscure – darts, a long-drive golf contest, something called kabbadi and a couple of reality shows – one based on guns, the other on cars. I looked in vain for any coverage of the recent Winter Olympics. I relied on the newspaper for information on that.
Now I have been trying to watch the 2018 Masters golf. No luck. Oddly, there was a Masters preview show but that was followed by a motorcycle race. Last year I am sure they showed the Masters after the preview. They must have cut way down on broadcast-rights fees to boost the bottom line. What next, the World Tiddlywinks contest?
I noticed they are showing highlights of the Masters after it is already over. I thought I might watch those if I could just keep from finding out who had won. Alas, two seconds after going online I knew, even though I tried to avert my eyes. Now there is no point in watching the highlights. Or in continuing to subscribe to cable TV. Yesterday’s paper.
The Klongurchin
Bangkok