Olympics - No Live Coverage In English ?

[Thaigreg]

You might be able to watch the Olympics (in English) online. Here in the US, it is available at the NBC website.

Viewing is restricted to US residents only!

[grantbkk]

Maybe you should go learn some Thai, your in thailand...

Oh, the irony!

well spotted !!

Incredible. Doesn't seem versed in any particular language.

By the next Olympics there will be alternatives to True Visions if they are still in business. I see today True is again pushing their failed IPTV system. They are offering the 3,000 subscribers (more than 65 million people in the country) the honor of paying for additional channels like FX and Fox Crime. The intractable leaders at True Visions will eventually have to offer these programs to the masses but so far I still have 70 future channel slots on my set top box.

Is anyone else think that the package designators like Know, Plat, Gold, etc. are necessary in the onscreen program guide? I sent them a couple of emails about it but they told me to get used to it and to use the "i" button on my remote to see what's on TV.

[NotNew2You]

From what i can gather so far there seems to be no live coverage of the olympics

in english...i would be interested to hear if there is going to be live coverage in english anywhere on Thai tv

Imagine that...Thai TV broadcasters actually broadcasting the Olympics (most boring atheletic event in the world) in Thai! Those dasterdly farang hating broadcasters...having the nerve to broadcast something in their own language.

Have you noticed something...you're living in Thailand and they speak, read, and write in Thai here...get it?

[JOHN2]

At 2k Baht/month TRUT (Dutch spelling) is rubbish.

At 500B/month TRUT is still rubbish.

Dunno why anyone pays them to view such a load of crap anyway

One word FOOTBALL

If it wasn't for that i would never pay for this poor excuse for cable tv,it must be the worst in the world.

[garnet]

From what i can gather so far there seems to be no live coverage of the olympics

in english...i would be interested to hear if there is going to be live coverage in english anywhere on Thai tv

Imagine that...Thai TV broadcasters actually broadcasting the Olympics (most boring atheletic event in the world) in Thai! Those dasterdly farang hating broadcasters...having the nerve to broadcast something in their own language.

Have you noticed something...you're living in Thailand and they speak, read, and write in Thai here...get it?

You are missing the point this is not about the ridiculous idea of Thai TV

broadcasting in english it,s about the frustration with the company that is

the alternative to Thai TV. A monopoly that gets most of it,s subscribers because

it broadcasts for the most part english language programs but seems to care little

for the people who pay it,s fees

Have you noticed somthing... you,re living in Thailand and this is an English language website you are spending

your time on..... get it ?

[mr_hippo]

Dear,Oh Dear, Oh Dear!!! No English commentary? Tell me, when you attend a sporting event who gives you the commentary?

1) There is none, I can see what's happening

2) I always take a friend who describes the action

3) I take a radio and listen to it on that.

Watching the Olympics 101

1) Look for the letters representing your country

2) Running events - the one who crosses the line first generally wins

3) Throwing events - furthest throw wins

4) Gymnastics - the numbers that the judges hold up are not the phone numbers of Pizza Hut or KFC, neither are they the numbers of the dishes on the menu at the Golden Phoenix restaurant in Beijing - they are scores.

5) Fencing - if a competitor is lying on the floor with a foil or epee sticking out of him - he's lost

6) If you see Mr Hippo riding his bike - you must be watching youtube

[pampal]

Dear,Oh Dear, Oh Dear!!! No English commentary? Tell me, when you attend a sporting event who gives you the commentary?

1) There is none, I can see what's happening

2) I always take a friend who describes the action

3) I take a radio and listen to it on that.

Watching the Olympics 101

1) Look for the letters representing your country

2) Running events - the one who crosses the line first generally wins

3) Throwing events - furthest throw wins

4) Gymnastics - the numbers that the judges hold up are not the phone numbers of Pizza Hut or KFC, neither are they the numbers of the dishes on the menu at the Golden Phoenix restaurant in Beijing - they are scores.

5) Fencing - if a competitor is lying on the floor with a foil or epee sticking out of him - he's lost

6) If you see Mr Hippo riding his bike - you must be watching youtube

:D

[onethailand]

As to the Olympics question, this will be my first Olympics here... so I have no past experience on this in Thailand. But I was talking about this last week with a Thai lady friend, and she said past Olympics coverage on the Thai free TV channels has been pretty extensive... (though the lady in question, while knowledgeable, certainly isn't a sports aficionado). I hope she's correct about that...

Nothing is as extensive as American coverage of the Olympics. In Thailand, coverage is pretty poor by comparison. I would suggest not making too many plans to stay home unless you are sure of the scheduling of a particular event.

The last time I watched good Olympics coverage (in the US) was in 1988 (Seoul) - in 84 I was working at the Olympics in LA LOL.

TrueVisions can't be blamed for this - the TV Pool always gets the rights to the Olympics and True can't do anything about it.

[Naam]

Have you noticed something...you're living in Thailand and they speak, read, and write in Thai here...get it?

they do?

[cathyy]

Cathyy....speaking as a good-humored "Yank," I don't know any "Yanks" who actually call themselves or others "Yanks" ...maybe unless they've been gone from the States way too long....

It quite nicely specifies citizens of the United States of America, is short and easy to type, and doesn't commandeer the name of two continents to identify the people of one nation. I like it. I'm not an Anglophile, I don't affect an English accent not use English spellings. Well, except for grey, which is the actual and original spelling of the color even in the US.

[dingdongrb]

Who cares, I'm not watching in protest to China and their policies .

Wow, that will make a real dent in world politics

cheers

onzestan

...and the ratings.....

[dingdongrb]

Maybe you should go learn some Thai, your in thailand, what do you expect

Donz are you competeing at The Olympics? Surely your spin kicking prowess should be on display.

Not sure if I could pass the drug test

Do they really test for Geritol at the Olympics?

[grantbkk]

At 2k Baht/month TRUT (Dutch spelling) is rubbish.

At 500B/month TRUT is still rubbish.

Dunno why anyone pays them to view such a load of crap anyway

One word FOOTBALL

If it wasn't for that i would never pay for this poor excuse for cable tv,it must be the worst in the world.

I wholeheartedly agree. Next month NFL Football finally gets going again. Go Broncos!

[skooldaze]

on www.nbcolympics.com they promise live simulcasts of most events. Although American olympics coverage has always left a lot to be desired at least you can get live coverage on the web in some form.

Joe-Bob says "CHECK IT OUT."

[skooldaze]

As to the Olympics question, this will be my first Olympics here... so I have no past experience on this in Thailand. But I was talking about this last week with a Thai lady friend, and she said past Olympics coverage on the Thai free TV channels has been pretty extensive... (though the lady in question, while knowledgeable, certainly isn't a sports aficionado). I hope she's correct about that...

Nothing is as extensive as American coverage of the Olympics. In Thailand, coverage is pretty poor by comparison. I would suggest not making too many plans to stay home unless you are sure of the scheduling of a particular event.

The last time I watched good Olympics coverage (in the US) was in 1988 (Seoul) - in 84 I was working at the Olympics in LA LOL.

TrueVisions can't be blamed for this - the TV Pool always gets the rights to the Olympics and True can't do anything about it.

You're full of baloney. American coverage is some of the worst around! I'm American but lived many years in Europe, where you get the all the events in their entirety. Not just the top ten athletes in the events the U.S. is good at. You speak out of ignorance when you say nothing is as extensive as American coverage only because you haven't seen it in Europe.

[madmitch]

If you are interested in athletics (track and field) or swimming then prepare to be even more disappointed. Thai TV covers the events that are popular in Thailand, e.g. boxing, volleyball, weightlifting etc.

Four years ago I sitting down to watch the final day of the athletics with some potentially really good races, only to find that both Thai channels showing live Olympics were covering the same volleyball game (can't remember if it was a semi-final or third place play-off- it wasn't even the final and the Thais weren't involved). That's the type of programming you'll experience.

Find a bar with South African coverage (Supersport) if you want to watch anything with English commentary.

[Mobi]

I have no doubt there will be saturation coverage, all in English, on the Supersports channels, plus ESPN which is transmitted from the S African network. So many of the bars will have it, as will my home

You may find the the free to air coverage in Thailand will include an alternative soundtrack in English, as do some of the UK football games covered here. Not very likely, but who knows?

Also, for those in the Pattaya area, you will find that some of the local cable companies (like the BTV where I live) do carry some foreign sports channels, such as SS2 from S Africa, and Eurosport, so another potential olympic outlet in English for some.

If TV sports coverage is an important part of your lives - as it is for me - then do your homework and get a dish installed that will receive the SA network.

Nothing is straight forward in Thailand so be prepared

[waveydavey]

From what i can gather so far there seems to be no live coverage of the olympics

in english I assume one of the local Thai channels will have live coverage but i

somehow expected True with all its sport channels to be covering the events in english

but the lack of mention of the Olympics in the current months magazine leads me to

believe that once again true visions is out to prove what an inept useless company

it is with absolutely no concern for its subscibers

If anybody knows different i would be interested to hear if there is going to be live

coverage in english anywhere on Thai tv

Here you are, print out Waveydaveys olympic vocabulary list and keep it next to the remote and the six-pack. Guaranteed to enhance your viewing pleasure no end

gii la oo lim bpic - olympics

torng - gold

ngern - silver

torng luang - bronze

rian bpra dap - medal

puu chaa na - winner

puu pair - loser

yaa - drugs

goong - cheat

ban tuk - record

[onethailand]

You're full of baloney. American coverage is some of the worst around! I'm American but lived many years in Europe, where you get the all the events in their entirety. Not just the top ten athletes in the events the U.S. is good at. You speak out of ignorance when you say nothing is as extensive as American coverage only because you haven't seen it in Europe.

You must've watched an Olympics that took place in Europe. Otherwise, you're full of bloodwurst.

[NotNew2You]

One word FOOTBALL

FOOTBALL...what the <deleted>'s that? I'm American...is that like NFL and AFL football, you can get that on your Thai cable?

[rixalex]

A monopoly that gets most of it,s subscribers because

it broadcasts for the most part english language programs but seems to care little

for the people who pay it,s fees

I'd agree with you that they don't much care about their customers, but you might be interested to know that the majority of people who pays its fees are actually Thai people, who probably couldn't give two hoots about all this.

Regarding the lack of Olympics coverage, i think you'd agree that big sporting events should be available for the masses to see on terrestrial TV, not just the rich few who can afford True Vision's fees.

This being the case, how could True Visions screen an event for which they don't have the TV rights for?

[NotNew2You]

it,s about the frustration with the company that is the alternative to Thai TV. A monopoly that gets most of it,s subscribers because it broadcasts for the most part english language programs but seems to care little for the people who pay it,s fees

Ecuse me...it's still a Thai cable company and I would venture that the majority of its subscribers are Thai households. In any case, if you are so unhappy with it, why to you fork over money every month like a moron? If you miss whatever it is you are missing on TV from "back home," why don't you just go back home? Then you could couch-potato in front of the TV to your heart's content.

While you are in Thailand, why not shut-off the TV and get a life!

[TheDon]

it,s about the frustration with the company that is the alternative to Thai TV. A monopoly that gets most of it,s subscribers because it broadcasts for the most part english language programs but seems to care little for the people who pay it,s fees

Ecuse me...it's still a Thai cable company and I would venture that the majority of its subscribers are Thai households. In any case, if you are so unhappy with it, why to you fork over money every month like a moron? If you miss whatever it is you are missing on TV from "back home," why don't you just go back home? Then you could couch-potato in front of the TV to your heart's content.

While you are in Thailand, why not shut-off the TV and get a life!

[jfchandler]

I'm not a big sports fan, and I almost never go to pubs to watch sports, except for the Super Bowl game last year... (thanks Bourbon Street).

But I wouldn't mind watching a bit of Olympics coverage from time to time with English language announcing (though seeing the rest on Thai TV at home is just fine for me).

So, now that we've satisfied our flaming quota for the day, can anyone recommend a bar/pub/locale around central BKK where this Supersports thing is provided -- assuming the prior post about them carrying Olympics coverage is correct????

[LivinLOS]

Maybe you should go learn some Thai, your in thailand, what do you expect

And how does that help when its not broadcast and only brief Thai related snippets ???

[TheDon]

I'm not a big sports fan, and I almost never go to pubs to watch sports, except for the Super Bowl game last year... (thanks Bourbon Street).

But I wouldn't mind watching a bit of Olympics coverage from time to time with English language announcing (though seeing the rest on Thai TV at home is just fine for me).

So, now that we've satisfied our flaming quota for the day, can anyone recommend a bar/pub/locale around central BKK where this Supersports thing is provided -- assuming the prior post about them carrying Olympics coverage is correct????

Get a tape recorder and record yourself saying " GOLD FOR AUSTRALIA" and put it on repeat.

That will be most of what will be said anyways from the english announcers

[nonthaburial]

These forums constantly knock the philippines but I tell you their Sky cable leaves UBC standing, better channels and cheaper !!!

Ans believe it or not they are offering a pay per view for the Olympics - Go figure

[dingdongrb]

Get a tape recorder and record yourself saying " GOLD FOR AUSTRALIA" and put it on repeat.

That will be most of what will be said anyways from the english announcers

Don, get a grip on yourself (pun intended), this is the Olympics not the SPECIAL Olympics....

[jfchandler]

No.... I have to say... I think Don has a point here...

You heard didn't you... this year's Summer Olympics has added kangaroo boxing as an event...

So... his home team is sure to gold medal in that...at least!!!!

[Plus]

In Thailand "TV Pool" or some other big company like RS Productions buys a licence to broadcast big sports events exclusively. If they didn't buy English commentary, tough luck, has absolutely nothing to do with UBC.

Even if UBC somehow got around the exclusivity of TV pool license, how much do you think we, the customers, would have to pay for the privilege? There are only 500,000 of us, and most of us are Thais who'd say to hel_l with Engilsh commentary if it costs that much.

Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore - they probably buy English commentary because English is official language there.