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Nicolas Atkin

Opinion | Now TV’s World Cup money grab is fleecing Hong Kong football fans

Charging subscribers extra to watch all the games from this summer’s tournament in Russia is shameful

Reading Time:3 minutes
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Fans watch Brazil’s opening 2014 World Cup match against Croatia at De Belgie in Central. Felix Wong

When you’re a subscription-based television provider and you’re trying on a shameless sales pitch to get a pre-existing customer to shell out more cash for a premium World Cup package when they called you because of technical difficulties, you’re doing something wrong.

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Step forward Now TV, who had the gall to try and grift a few more bucks out of my friend this week when we were at his flat and called the customer service hotline for over an hour because his Now TV box had frozen.

Sorry for the inconvenience sir, but while you’re here, can we sell you some more stuff despite our poor service?

A promotional advert on the company’s website also has a big logo of a referee brandishing a red card, warning you not to miss out, as if you would be punishing yourself by not giving over some more money.

It’s going to be tough for fans in Hong Kong to watch Neymar strut his stuff at the World Cup without paying extra. Photo: AP
It’s going to be tough for fans in Hong Kong to watch Neymar strut his stuff at the World Cup without paying extra. Photo: AP
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It seems like a uniquely Hong Kong experience that customers are charged extra for these World Cup games despite some already paying HK$238 a month for sports packages with Now TV.

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