Sophon Cable---starworld Channel Gone

[LOS NICK]

Whats going on here..I went to watch the starworld channel on sophon cable here in pattaya and it is gone.Its the only channel that I actually like other then the news channels...Now the cable service is totally worthless to me..Has it been removed from your cable services and ubc services..

[Mobi]

Whats going on here..I went to watch the starworld channel on sophon cable here in pattaya and it is gone.Its the only channel that I actually like other then the news channels...Now the cable service is totally worthless to me..Has it been removed from your cable services and ubc services..

Someone can correct me if I am wrong on this, but as far as I am aware, the only legal cable TV company in the whole of Thailand is UBC. All the rest, including Sophon, are basically illegal - or at least they certainly are as far as any non - Thai transmissions are concerened , including Star World, anyhting else carried by UBC who are the only legal carriers.

So I'm afraid there ain't much you can do except subscribe to UBC or find some other illegal outfit (J Sat?) who may carry it.

[Noel]

Whats going on here..I went to watch the starworld channel on sophon cable here in pattaya and it is gone.Its the only channel that I actually like other then the news channels...Now the cable service is totally worthless to me..Has it been removed from your cable services and ubc services..

At lunchtime today, this message appeared:

“Please call Customer Services to subscribe to this channel. If you are a new subscriber, please wait for a few minutes while your subscription details are confirmed.”

If they cannot get it back in a day or two, I foresee many cancelling their subscriptions...

[penzman]

Most of them simply rip off feeds and redistribute on their own network. Don't you enjoy the underpaid, student/techs/teenagers constantly reprogramming channels live while you're watching and leaving home while the menu is still displayed on your screen?

[LOS NICK]

without the starworld channel sophon cable is total <deleted> and not worth 5 baht.It will be a mass exodus.I hope they wise up and restore the channel..Im missing all my ###### shows.

[splitlid]

alas star world has gone,

my gf used to work for cable and says as of end of june no more star world,

now living in hua hin and no star world here either, went to their office yesterday to ask.....well ........"no have"..yes i know...why..."no have".....

oh ok thank you

[Thaigreg]

Hi,

I have Banglamung cable TV here in Pattaya and we also lost STAR WORLD and A1 channels. Yesterday they had a message on each of these channels explaining that their contract for these programs has expired and new programming on these channels will be added sometime in the future.

Greg

[jimbob]

The same has happened in Phuket but the cable provider did put up warnings on its other channels that this was to happen as "Star Wolrd had cancelled the contract". Maybe they had some deal set up but the flood of people leaving UBC woke them up enough to cancel it?

Anyhoo I ended up reading a book last night. Not sure if that is a good or bad thing.....

[jaiyenjohn]

I used to work for StarTV, and as far as I know, the only legal way to view the channel was on UBC. They were the only one with a real contract.

STARTV used to turn a blind eye to the pirating and resale of their signal by local unscrupulous cable channels, because they let the full signal through with commercials, which was also illegal by Thai law. Something obviously has changed, and they probably have put the hammer down on these companies and threatened legal action.

But as penzman states, all of these so called local cable companies are mostly - illegal and operate in a very grey area. To protect the government owned broadcast stations, cable/satellite TV is not allowed to show advertising (but they all do), they must make their money by subscriptions. Which is why UBC is so expensive, they actually pay for the channels you watch, and so you've got to pay them, unsubsidized by the advertising. If the govt wasn't so paranoid about losing their monopoly on TV ad revenue, and opened the market up to some competition, UBC would be a whole lot cheaper.

These local cable companies are so cheap because they essentially steal their programming and pirate the signals. So you get what you pay for in that regard, and take your chances.

[Kerryd]

Ahhh, that explains why I get Explorer on 2 channels now, and non-stop PlayList music videos on the StarWorld channel instead of the Simpsons (and some other shows not worth watching).

To bad they didn't broadcast one of the Explorer channels in English (looks like a good feature on Egypt showing right now).

[wilko]

Whats going on here..I went to watch the starworld channel on sophon cable here in pattaya and it is gone.Its the only channel that I actually like other then the news channels...Now the cable service is totally worthless to me..Has it been removed from your cable services and ubc services..

Someone can correct me if I am wrong on this, but as far as I am aware, the only legal cable TV company in the whole of Thailand is UBC. All the rest, including Sophon, are basically illegal - or at least they certainly are as far as any non - Thai transmissions are concerened , including Star World, anyhting else carried by UBC who are the only legal carriers.

So I'm afraid there ain't much you can do except subscribe to UBC or find some other illegal outfit (J Sat?) who may carry it.

UBC are not cable - they're satelite.....

All cable channels have lost starworld and it is unlikely ever to come back....the legality of it was always somewhat dubious, but they have been saying it was going to UBC on the 15th of June for about 2 months. The BBC is encrypted soon so that will go, and CNN which means there will be sweet F.A on any cable channels for us EL expats.

Furthhermore we are about to lose Metropolis 107 radio with its regular BBC World news broadcasts. It wouild seem that English Language braodcasting in Thailand is taking a massive step backwards.

So.....anyone know how I can get one of those big single payment satelite dishes? Preferably from Sri Racha.

[Mobi]

UBC are not cable - they're satelite.....

UBC are cable in Bkk and satellite down here. It doesn't matter how they transmit their signals - cable or satellite - they are the ones with the Star World rights in Thailand.

I can't say for sure whether they sub- contracted the rights to local cable companies, but I seriously doubt it. The local companies just picked it up from their own dish and illegally transmitted it through their cable networks. Now they've been stopped either by UBC or they can't crack the codes any more. Simple as that.

Go to UBC and pay the legal price, or spend money on another illegal dish transmission until such time as it gets encrypted again and they can't decode it.

[alexth]

UBC are not cable - they're satelite.....

UBC are cable in Bkk and satellite down here. It doesn't matter how they transmit their signals - cable or satellite - they are the ones with the Star World rights in Thailand.

I can't say for sure whether they sub- contracted the rights to local cable companies, but I seriously doubt it. The local companies just picked it up from their own dish and illegally transmitted it through their cable networks. Now they've been stopped either by UBC or they can't crack the codes any more. Simple as that.

Go to UBC and pay the legal price, or spend money on another illegal dish transmission until such time as it gets encrypted again and they can't decode it.

Spot on, Mobi is right, quit being cheap, drink one beer less everyday and save those bahts for the UBC if you're really so into StarWorld...

[wilko]

UBC are not cable - they're satelite.....

UBC are cable in Bkk and satellite down here. It doesn't matter how they transmit their signals - cable or satellite - they are the ones with the Star World rights in Thailand.

I can't say for sure whether they sub- contracted the rights to local cable companies, but I seriously doubt it. The local companies just picked it up from their own dish and illegally transmitted it through their cable networks. Now they've been stopped either by UBC or they can't crack the codes any more. Simple as that.

Go to UBC and pay the legal price, or spend money on another illegal dish transmission until such time as it gets encrypted again and they can't decode it.

Spot on, Mobi is right, quit being cheap, drink one beer less everyday and save those bahts for the UBC if you're really so into StarWorld...

Who are you calling cheap A-hole?!

[easyride]

without the starworld channel sophon cable is total <deleted> and not worth 5 baht.It will be a mass exodus.I hope they wise up and restore the channel..Im missing all my ###### shows.

Aside from the legalities - TIT - other posts have said they were actually INFORMED, in ENGLISH that Star was to go. goes to show the contempt Sophon must have for its many farang subscribers. like you I think its time to vote by canceling my standing order.

[hm1973]

The Star Network used to sell the service to cable companies. I went to the press conference two years ago where they introduced their services to the local cable company chiefs (Sophon, BTV, Jomtien Cable, Sattahip Cable, Chonburi Cable and Sriracha Cable). Their plan was sell the service for a heavily discounted price to benefit the smaller cable companies and increase their coverage and chances of receiving lucrative sponsorship deals thanks to their coverage. Now the deal has changed and UBC have purchased the exclusive rights to Star and are not prepared to allow cable companies to show the stations which include Star World, A1, National Geographic, Star Sports, and V Thailand. Bad news for Sophon Cable subscribers who are really only left with ABC Asia Pacific for English language series.

I do undertsand though that negotiations are now ongoing with UBC to release the stations to cable companies but I don't hold out much hope.

[Mobi]

The Star Network used to sell the service to cable companies. I went to the press conference two years ago where they introduced their services to the local cable company chiefs (Sophon, BTV, Jomtien Cable, Sattahip Cable, Chonburi Cable and Sriracha Cable). Their plan was sell the service for a heavily discounted price to benefit the smaller cable companies and increase their coverage and chances of receiving lucrative sponsorship deals thanks to their coverage. Now the deal has changed and UBC have purchased the exclusive rights to Star and are not prepared to allow cable companies to show the stations which include Star World, A1, National Geographic, Star Sports, and V Thailand. Bad news for Sophon Cable subscribers who are really only left with ABC Asia Pacific for English language series.

I do undertsand though that negotiations are now ongoing with UBC to release the stations to cable companies but I don't hold out much hope.

Thank you Hm

My apologies to the cable companies who I accused of illegal transmissions.

looks like the end of the line guys

[tuky]

Don't forget Fashion TV.

[sriracha john]

Geez.... 250 baht a month just doesn't buy as much as it used to...

Oh well, our cable decided to add ANOTHER English-soundtrack movie channel to the existing one... and so, at least while the copied movies are available, it's still a good value and reason enough to keep our cable. StarWorld was worthwhile for several programs... RIP StarWorld.

[Noel]

Sophon Cable have explained why they no longer broadcast Star World.

They say they would be required to pay ฿10 million per month for the right to do so...

[sriracha john]

Sophon Cable have explained why they no longer broadcast Star World.

They say they would be required to pay ฿10 million per month for the right to do so...

I'd be willing to up my part to say... 260 or even 275... if that helps...

[calibanjr.]

Just be thankful you don't have WETV, CM's version of Sophon. Sophon by my recollection is better than WETV, even without StarWorld.

BTW, everything about Sophon is dubious. I remember watching OBVIOUSLY pirated movies (you know with audience coughing and getting up for bathroom breaks). My favorite was when they had "Terminator 3" on Sophon two weeks before it showed at the cinemas in Thailand, classic!

[Kerryd]

BTW, everything about Sophon is dubious.

I like it when there is a problem and you see their computer screen being displayed. Makes it look like the whole thing is being run from someone's PC in their apartment.

The Sophon Cable announcement I saw noted that UBC wanted them to pay 10 million baht, but Sophon's customer base is too small to be able to afford that (without quadrupling or more the monthly fees).

Sounds like UBC is hoping to price Sophon out of the market, knowing they can't afford those rates.

[calibanjr.]

BTW, everything about Sophon is dubious.

I like it when there is a problem and you see their computer screen being displayed. Makes it look like the whole thing is being run from someone's PC in their apartment.

Same thing happens on WETV. Watch the mouse move around and reboot the system, pretty funny. If you're lucky that is, sometimes the DVD they're playing it on freezes and the "operator" is off at the local food cart.

[sriracha john]

the late-night hijinks are the best...

Apparently asleep at the controls, the dvd player just plays the same disc over and over...

[Noel]

Sophon Cable have explained why they no longer broadcast Star World.

They say they would be required to pay ฿10 million per month for the right to do so...

I'd be willing to up my part to say... 260 or even 275... if that helps...

Very generous of you SJ!

However, I somehow doubt your cable provider has 1,000,000 or even 400,000 like-minded subscribers...

[sriracha john]

Sophon Cable have explained why they no longer broadcast Star World.

They say they would be required to pay ฿10 million per month for the right to do so...

I'd be willing to up my part to say... 260 or even 275... if that helps...

Very generous of you SJ!

However, I somehow doubt your cable provider has 1,000,000 or even 400,000 like-minded subscribers...

actually i was offering to help offset the costs for a good "boo-<deleted> box" (satellite de-cryption box) so they can resume just stealing the signal like the in old days. It would also go to fund the costs for someone to stay up-to-date on the latest de-cryption updates.