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The new World Cup stadium in Saransk, Russia, hosts a local league game in April. Hong Kong customs officers arrested eight people and seized 354 illegal set-top boxes in a crackdown on illegal television streaming devices, ahead of the Fifa World Cup in Russia starting this week. Photo: AP
OpinionLetters

Now TV’s bad service is making Hong Kong people turn to illegal set-top boxes

Crime in Hong Kong
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Regarding C.K. Chan’s letter on the protection of intellectual property rights (“Hong Kong Customs lives up to sterling record with TV box raids”, June 3), in response to Alex Lo’s column (“Customs helps Now TV fleece World Cup viewers”, May 30), I suggest PCCW would stand to gain a lot more sympathy from Joe Public if it could upgrade its own standards as a key service provider.

Two years ago, PCCW withdrew Eurosport channels 676 and 677 from my Now TV sports package, at short notice via an anonymous on-screen message – with no explanation, and initially offering no form of compensation.

After several rounds of emails and postal correspondence with some of Mr Chan’s underlings, I accepted an enhanced “final” offer of a few hundred temporary Now dollars to watch some free movies, but still could not get an adequate explanation of the withdrawal.

‘Now TV have us over a barrel’: Hong Kong bars blast huge World Cup bill

This wasn’t the first time Now TV had unilaterally reduced my subscription package. I was sorely tempted to cancel, but have reluctantly continued as there are other channels in the package I still enjoy watching.

Faced with this type of practice, is it any wonder that otherwise upstanding and honest folk feel no great pangs of conscience in purchasing illicit set-top boxes?

Dick Martin, Happy Valley

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