L.A. Times article on U.S. viewers getting CBC for Olympics

[Davidlatimes]

Hi,

I'm a reporter in the Business section of the Los Angeles Times and I'm currently doing a piece about people in the U.S. who are watching the CBC coverage of the Olympics via Canadian satellite-TV. (Many consider the CBC coverage to be far more events-oriented and less US-centric than the NBC coverage down here).

I would greatly appreciate speaking to someone in the US who has gone to the trouble of getting Canadian satellite TV for the Olympics (and perhaps for other programming). You can remain anonymous if you choose - we're just interested in why people have made that choice and their thoughts on the Canadian coverage.

I can be reached at 800-528-4637 (800-LA-TIMES), ext 77496. Or on my direct line at 213-237-7496.

Or if you'd like me to call you, I'd be happy to do so.

Thanks, and I hope to speak to someone as soon as possible (hopefully today).

David Colker
Los Angeles Times
david.colker@latimes.com

p.s.: If you'd like to see other articles I've written, please go to www.latimes.com and put my last name in the search engine. I have one in today's Business section about consumer electronic manufacturers, such as Panasonic, using the games to promote their HDTV products.

 

[korsjs]

When you are done with your article, could you post it here? I would be interested in reading it. You will probably have only paying subscribers for the service using a fictitious Canada address reply. Dish and Bev sent out an ECM and the people who where receiving the signals illegally are now out of luck.

 

[Mr Tony]

We like to call it "grey area subscribers"

 

[korsjs]

We like to call it "grey area subscribers"

I see no problem as long as you are paying for it or are only receiving the legal unscrambled channels. I was a "MOVER" when I lived in Chicago, I wanted to see my home football team. That was before most locals where moved to spotbeams. I now live in my home town and do not have the need to "MOVE".

Again, I have no problem with someone using a fictious address as long as you are a paying customer.

 

[HokieEngineer]

From what i've heard, the last ecm was just like the rest... good for a whole few days...

Please post the article here or at least a link to it when you're done!

 

[fredfa]

Re korsjs:
"...Again, I have no problem with someone using a fictitious address as long as you are a paying customer."

That is an interesting point of view (and probably in agreement with most on the board.)
Frankly, I believe Americans are better off obeying the letter and the spirit of the law. Not to mention supporting U.S. companies.
But, just for the fun of it, let me give you a hypothetical.
Suppose 50,000 tax-paying California (or New York or Massachusetts) Democrats established phony addresses in your home state of Florida and then voted by absentee ballot for President.
They would be "tax-paying" voters.
They just didn't want to waste their John Kerry votes in California where they are (apparently) not needed.
But how would you feel about that?

 

[fredfa]

re Davidlatimes:
"...(Many consider the CBC coverage to be far more events-oriented and less US-centric than the NBC coverage down here)."

That certainly HAS been the case, going back to the Roone Arledge 1968 Mexico City games.
And things have gotten way worse since then.
But this year, with massive cable coverage on MSNBC, Bravo, USA, Telemundo and CNBC, things have changed dramatically.
There are far more hours of coverage, and many more sports are being covered: with softball, badminton, archery, rowing, table tennis, and many others along with soccer and basketball (mens and womens) games not involving the United States.
So I guess my question to the LA Times would be: are you basing your story based on attitudes formed by past Olympic performances by the networks, or by this year's actual programming?
If your thesis is that some people watch Canadian satellite coverage because they can't stand jingoistic US network coverage, I suspect your facts (though not perhaps, the public perception) are a bit out of date.
Perhaps they really subscribe to Canadian satellite because they can easily get East (Boston) and West (Seattle) network stations in HD with no waivers and little hassle.
And cheaper than from DirecTV or Dish even if those options were available.

(And before I am written off as an anti-Times nut, let me hasten to commend you and your section for what I consider to be a solid upgrade in entertainment news reporting over the past year or so. Unlike your brethren in Calendar, you actually report the [business] news of Hollywood on a pretty consistently fair and timely manner.)

And there has been a recent thread over at AVS forum on Expressvu getting the NFL ST package.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=428384

One respodent in particular might be of interest to you: his handle is clapple he lives in Palm Springs. So you might just message him. (I already have and pointed him to this thread.)