TrueVisions' Subscribers Outraged As TV Screens Goes Blank During EURO 2012

[webfact]

OFF THE MARK

Viewers are losers as GMM Grammy, TrueVisions fight

Jintana Panyaarvudh

A poster with the logo of the UEFA EURO 2012 can be seen on a street in the center of Wroclaw, Poland, 31 May 2012. The UEFA EURO 2012 will take place from 08 June to 01 July 2012 and is co hosted by Poland and Ukraine. EPA/MACIEJ KULCZYNSKI

Thai soccer fans have started the countdown to Euro 2012, which kicks off on Friday night.

All 31 matches will be broadcast on free TV but it does not mean all fans will be able to enjoy the matches free.

BANGKOK: -- GMM Grammy, the media rights holder for the tournament, co-hosted by Ukraine and Poland, has allied with free TV channels and will televise the matches from June 8 to July 1. Channel 3 will be the main broadcaster and the final four games of the group stage will be simultaneously televised on Channels 5 and 9 as well.

Fans should be happy. But not TrueVisions' subscribers.

Grammy made it clear that fans would be able to follow tournament matches only by subscribing to GMM Z top box, formerly known as 1Sky, which can be connected to satellite dishes and receive signals directly from Grammy. A second option is via local cable under partnership with Thai Cable Holding. A third is via satellite in cooperation with Thaicom's DTV. A fourth option is homes that have old-fashioned antennas. And a fifth is via AIS on mobile phone.

This means TrueVisions subscribers cannot watch the matches - even if they are aired on free TV. Their TV screens will go blank during the matches. Soccer fans suffered the same problem during World Cup tournament two years ago. The reason is that Uefa sold the rights to Thailand only and Grammy is quite eager to block the signal, which could be pirated from TrueVisions to neighbouring countries.

Last week, the country's biggest subscription TV operator made a plea on behalf of all viewers for Grammy to rethink and not block its broadcast signals. One of its executives said everybody should have the right to watch the global tournament.

After TrueVisions' appeal through the press, Grammy said it would not let TrueVisions get the signals for free, because it paid around Bt400 million to get the licence rights. Its executive claimed that TrueVisions had earlier ignored an invitation to bid jointly for the Euro rights. The confrontation between the two companies became tense with each attacking the other in statements.

TrueVisions appeared to want to take the fight to the public and use them as a bargaining force to acquire broadcast rights. The company threatened to block some of their sport content, used by TV operators, if it is treated "unfairly" over Euro 2012.

TrueVisions was referring to the English Premier League (EPL) and Uefa Champion League, the rights for which they own for the next three seasons. They had originally planned to air some matches on free TV. Grammy, in fact, has a point here. To be fair, TrueVisions should give Grammy something in return. It could be broadcasting fees or sharing some sport content. Otherwise, TrueVisions has to compensate its subscribers, who have to pay for the GMM Z box or an antenna.

Whatever the outcome is, it will have an impact on the upcoming EPL bidding. Grammy and TrueVisions are competing for the broadcasting rights for 2013-2015 seasons.

Grammy boss Paiboon Damrongchaitham has shown a desire to have some sort of an understanding with TrueVisions. He feels the cost of securing the EPL rights will be too expensive if two firms from the same country fight against each other.

With less than a week to go before the kick-off and a solution not anywhere near, an old-fashioned antenna that costs around Bt200-300 is a good choice for fans. Another option for those who do not want to pay is watching via IPTV. Hopefully, Trueonline and other Internet providers will not block links for live streaming.

Competition in business is always good but sometimes it can be bad. In the war between Grammy and TrueVisions, viewers are the losers.

-- The Nation 2012-06-04

[eTiMaGo]

We actually got a GMM Z box, it's quite disappointing with only composite outputs... But the channel selection is OK I guess...

I do wonder though, what of the True HD channels? Will they be able to show matches in HD?

[Lannatyne]

So, if you watch Thai 'terrestrial' TV via True, you won't see a thing. If you watch Thai 'terrestrial TV via either Cable or aerial, you'll see it. Presumably, you're going to get stuck with Thai commentary, though.

Hope that Astrosport 2 or 3, via Cable, will show some of the games, too.

[CockneyGit]

Normal levels of service offered, nothing new. Was the same for the last World Cup.

Luckily have cable service which gives me channels 3, 5, 7, 9 etc. plus Astrosport 2 and 3.

[hotandhumid]

So, if you watch Thai 'terrestrial' TV via True, you won't see a thing. If you watch Thai 'terrestrial TV via either Cable or aerial, you'll see it. Presumably, you're going to get stuck with Thai commentary, though.

Hope that Astrosport 2 or 3, via Cable, will show some of the games, too.

I am based in Pattaya, if you have Sophon Cable tv I assume you will be able to watch the games through ch3 and ch7 on there...anyone?

I hope Grammy (whoever they a re) don't win the PL war, that could work out bad for the viewers my gut tells me.

[drdoom6996]

Unfortunately the Fans of Football that were laughing at the fans of American Football last year in October when True stopped the programming of the ASN network, now on GMM Grammy, are finding out what it is like to make plans and have them ruined. All the programing on the GMM Z box in English is at least 2 years old except for live broadcasting and the Thai channels. I have subscribed to the internet for all the sports programming that I watch, Nascar, Baseball, and NFL American Football. It is all in HD and all you need to view it on your tv is get an HDMI cable, plug it in to your computer and your tv and tell your computer that you have 2 screens. You might have to get a computer pro to help you with this part, but it is beautiful. I don't watch football (soccer) so I don't know what is available for it on the internet.

True has made their bed and now will have to sleep in it. GMM Grammy is out to get True. And after all they have taken away from us I don't blame them. Hell it's only 900 Baht for the GMM box and you pay at least 1400 baht to get sports on True. If you want HD it's way more than that. Personally I am my own director and producer and I pay less for the internet connection for the sports than a 1 year subscription for True Sports.

Good Luck Everybody

[crazykopite]

Same old shit here we go again, they are all a bunch of robbers and dont give a monkeys about the viewer all they want is your hard earned dosh what a rip off !!!!

[mattos]

I've just bought a set-top box from thaiexpat.tv for 8,000 baht with a 12 month subscription. There are 8 uk channels streamed live and with 2 time delays. Servers are based in Thailand so a 3mb line does a great job.

The box has a HDMI port, etherenet port and a digital audio if want to listen in surrond sound. It's like an apple tv, with on screen graphics where you use a remote to flick through the channels.

You don't have to have a box, you can use a PC to get the software.

I'm cancelling True as it's too expensive and doesn't have what I want to watch.

Edited June 4, 2012 by sbk
links removed

[crazykopite]

Unfortunately the Fans of Football that were laughing at the fans of American Football last year in October when True stopped the programming of the ASN network, now on GMM Grammy, are finding out what it is like to make plans and have them ruined. All the programing on the GMM Z box in English is at least 2 years old except for live broadcasting and the Thai channels. I have subscribed to the internet for all the sports programming that I watch, Nascar, Baseball, and NFL American Football. It is all in HD and all you need to view it on your tv is get an HDMI cable, plug it in to your computer and your tv and tell your computer that you have 2 screens. You might have to get a computer pro to help you with this part, but it is beautiful. I don't watch football (soccer) so I don't know what is available for it on the internet.

True has made their bed and now will have to sleep in it. GMM Grammy is out to get True. And after all they have taken away from us I don't blame them. Hell it's only 900 Baht for the GMM box and you pay at least 1400 baht to get sports on True. If you want HD it's way more than that. Personally I am my own director and producer and I pay less for the internet connection for the sports than a 1 year subscription for True Sports.

Good Luck Everybody

Thats fine if you have a landline but guys like me who choose to live in the sticks have to use a dongle which is no good if you want tv on your computer b ecause it is to slow

[alant]

not for the first time has the customer / football fan been left out in the "its my ball" state. The blame as far as I am concerned resides with the football authorities who sold the tv rights. they, in the interest of football and the fans who support football, should have mandated open viewing on such platforms. they should also ban Grammy from further broadcasting.

[volk666]

GmmZ box might be only 900 baht but you need to install a satellite dish first and those aren't cheap, considering there's nothing to watch on GMM except the Euros.

All previous World Cups and Euros were always broadcast by True on free TV channels, this is the first time that someone is blocking free TV content on True, so people need to buy either new dishes or new old style antennas they thrown away ages ago when they subscribed to True.

Btw, most of those antennas as well as Gmm boxes are made by the same company - Samart.

[LuckyLew]

Is this GRAMMY Box really that easy to install?

I currently have a gold package with TRUE that has a red dish on the roof

Can someone please tell me how I can set up this GRAMMY box

Please advise where I can purchase the box?

What is the name on the GRAMMY box that I need to purchase?

And how can I install it myself

Thanks in advance

[stoneyboy]

Buy an aerial.

[volk666]

not for the first time has the customer / football fan been left out in the "its my ball" state.

Actually it IS the first time with major competitions like WC or Euros. This time True about half a million of True customers are being prevented from watching free to air programming.

[drdoom6996]

Unfortunately the Fans of Football that were laughing at the fans of American Football last year in October when True stopped the programming of the ASN network, now on GMM Grammy, are finding out what it is like to make plans and have them ruined. All the programing on the GMM Z box in English is at least 2 years old except for live broadcasting and the Thai channels. I have subscribed to the internet for all the sports programming that I watch, Nascar, Baseball, and NFL American Football. It is all in HD and all you need to view it on your tv is get an HDMI cable, plug it in to your computer and your tv and tell your computer that you have 2 screens. You might have to get a computer pro to help you with this part, but it is beautiful. I don't watch football (soccer) so I don't know what is available for it on the internet.

True has made their bed and now will have to sleep in it. GMM Grammy is out to get True. And after all they have taken away from us I don't blame them. Hell it's only 900 Baht for the GMM box and you pay at least 1400 baht to get sports on True. If you want HD it's way more than that. Personally I am my own director and producer and I pay less for the internet connection for the sports than a 1 year subscription for True Sports.

Good Luck Everybody

Thats fine if you have a landline but guys like me who choose to live in the sticks have to use a dongle which is no good if you want tv on your computer b ecause it is to slow

I'm sure you are right about that. As people in the sticks in the US or Europe get great internet with dishes in their back yard. Thailand chooses not to offer this service to you. BTW, when I am connected I'm only using about 25% of the internet bandwidth. About 230 kb per second. I never stop downloading tv series with torrents and my internet sports don't even blink. Maybe you have more than you thought.

[drdoom6996]

GmmZ box might be only 900 baht but you need to install a satellite dish first and those aren't cheap, considering there's nothing to watch on GMM except the Euros.

All previous World Cups and Euros were always broadcast by True on free TV channels, this is the first time that someone is blocking free TV content on True, so people need to buy either new dishes or new old style antennas they thrown away ages ago when they subscribed to True.

Btw, most of those antennas as well as Gmm boxes are made by the same company - Samart.

I'll sell you mine for half price. I don't use satalite dishes anymore.

[volk666]

Is this GRAMMY Box really that easy to install?

I currently have a gold package with TRUE that has a red dish on the roof

Can someone please tell me how I can set up this GRAMMY box

Please advise where I can purchase the box?

What is the name on the GRAMMY box that I need to purchase?

And how can I install it myself

Thanks in advance

Buy a big satellite dish, then you can plug it into your "easy to install" Grammy box.

Or buy an aerial and watch football on Channels 3, 5, 7 etc in glorious analog format, like like fifty years ago but in color.

[Lite Beer]

As far as I know the box costs around 1,500 Baht.

There will be some Thai channels plus a Movie channel, Nat Geo Adventure, Euro Sport and other sport channels. M.U.T.V

After a month the "premium channels" will cost around 3 hundred Baht a month.

There is a big promotion in Big C.

[BuddhistVirus]

Is this GRAMMY Box really that easy to install?

I currently have a gold package with TRUE that has a red dish on the roof

Can someone please tell me how I can set up this GRAMMY box

Please advise where I can purchase the box?

What is the name on the GRAMMY box that I need to purchase?

And how can I install it myself

Thanks in advance

GMM-Z set top box, available at Tesco, 7/Eleven, Big C, etc.

If you have True, just unplug the True box and plug in GMM Z box and you are good to go

[DGS1244]

Cannot see what all the fuss is about. Just gives me a great excuse to sit in the local 'Pub' in Chiang Mai with a pint of Amber Nectar and watch it on a large screen.

[volk666]

GmmZ box might be only 900 baht but you need to install a satellite dish first and those aren't cheap, considering there's nothing to watch on GMM except the Euros.

All previous World Cups and Euros were always broadcast by True on free TV channels, this is the first time that someone is blocking free TV content on True, so people need to buy either new dishes or new old style antennas they thrown away ages ago when they subscribed to True.

Btw, most of those antennas as well as Gmm boxes are made by the same company - Samart.

I'll sell you mine for half price. I don't use satalite dishes anymore.

I won't be using it next month, after Euros, either. Plus the installation cost, plus Grammy box cost, plus the subscription cost, even if it's only 300 a month. All of that for one month, AND NO HD. For HD I need to find a cable company and there are none in our neighborhood.

Luckily our house has an aerial that shows fine grain moving images when it's not raining. I hope I'll survive.

Will check thaiexpat tv, servers in Thailand sound promising, will they be able to handle the traffic during games?

[LuckyLew]

Is this GRAMMY Box really that easy to install?

I currently have a gold package with TRUE that has a red dish on the roof

Can someone please tell me how I can set up this GRAMMY box

Please advise where I can purchase the box?

What is the name on the GRAMMY box that I need to purchase?

And how can I install it myself

Thanks in advance

GMM-Z set top box, available at Tesco, 7/Eleven, Big C, etc.

If you have True, just unplug the True box and plug in GMM Z box and you are good to go

Thanks for that

[volk666]

Is this GRAMMY Box really that easy to install?

I currently have a gold package with TRUE that has a red dish on the roof

Can someone please tell me how I can set up this GRAMMY box

Please advise where I can purchase the box?

What is the name on the GRAMMY box that I need to purchase?

And how can I install it myself

Thanks in advance

GMM-Z set top box, available at Tesco, 7/Eleven, Big C, etc.

If you have True, just unplug the True box and plug in GMM Z box and you are good to go

Are you sure? That's not what Grammy told us over the phone. Have you tried it yourself? Is it technically possible to get non-True signal from branded True satellite dish?

This could be the solution, if it works.

[drdoom6996]

Is this GRAMMY Box really that easy to install?

I currently have a gold package with TRUE that has a red dish on the roof

Can someone please tell me how I can set up this GRAMMY box

Please advise where I can purchase the box?

What is the name on the GRAMMY box that I need to purchase?

And how can I install it myself

Thanks in advance

If you have access to any dish at all it is plug and play, literally.

[lungmi]

Cannot see what all the fuss is about. Just gives me a great excuse to sit in the local 'Pub' in Chiang Mai with a pint of Amber Nectar and watch it on a large screen.

Pubs are open at 2 to 4 am?

[drdoom6996]

Is this GRAMMY Box really that easy to install?

I currently have a gold package with TRUE that has a red dish on the roof

Can someone please tell me how I can set up this GRAMMY box

Please advise where I can purchase the box?

What is the name on the GRAMMY box that I need to purchase?

And how can I install it myself

Thanks in advance

GMM-Z set top box, available at Tesco, 7/Eleven, Big C, etc.

If you have True, just unplug the True box and plug in GMM Z box and you are good to go

Are you sure? That's not what Grammy told us over the phone. Have you tried it yourself? Is it technically possible to get non-True signal from branded True satellite dish?

This could be the solution, if it works.

Yes, I know people that have actually put a splitter on their True dish, run another cable to their living room and done it. The box IS PLUG AND PLAY. When I had it the code was 9999 for set up. But now you have to pay first I think. I don't really know I don't have it anymore.

[BuddhistVirus]

Is this GRAMMY Box really that easy to install?

I currently have a gold package with TRUE that has a red dish on the roof

Can someone please tell me how I can set up this GRAMMY box

Please advise where I can purchase the box?

What is the name on the GRAMMY box that I need to purchase?

And how can I install it myself

Thanks in advance

GMM-Z set top box, available at Tesco, 7/Eleven, Big C, etc.

If you have True, just unplug the True box and plug in GMM Z box and you are good to go

Are you sure? That's not what Grammy told us over the phone. Have you tried it yourself? Is it technically possible to get non-True signal from branded True satellite dish?

This could be the solution, if it works.

Yes, it is possible. However, I have mine connected through IPM TV dish and pointed to Thaicom (same satellite position true visions is on).

[thaicbr]

GmmZ box might be only 900 baht but you need to install a satellite dish first and those aren't cheap, considering there's nothing to watch on GMM except the Euros.

All previous World Cups and Euros were always broadcast by True on free TV channels, this is the first time that someone is blocking free TV content on True, so people need to buy either new dishes or new old style antennas they thrown away ages ago when they subscribed to True.

Btw, most of those antennas as well as Gmm boxes are made by the same company - Samart.

Or True should just come to a financial agreement with GMM who did after all pay for the Thai viewing rights. True did not pay BUT they charge us to view. Also it was stated that True was offered joint bidding but refused. There you go. GMM are still offering the football free just not to True.

Sent from my GT-P1010 using Thaivisa Connect App

[BuddhistVirus]

Is this GRAMMY Box really that easy to install?

I currently have a gold package with TRUE that has a red dish on the roof

Can someone please tell me how I can set up this GRAMMY box

Please advise where I can purchase the box?

What is the name on the GRAMMY box that I need to purchase?

And how can I install it myself

Thanks in advance

GMM-Z set top box, available at Tesco, 7/Eleven, Big C, etc.

If you have True, just unplug the True box and plug in GMM Z box and you are good to go

Are you sure? That's not what Grammy told us over the phone. Have you tried it yourself? Is it technically possible to get non-True signal from branded True satellite dish?

This could be the solution, if it works.

Yes, I know people that have actually put a splitter on their True dish, run another cable to their living room and done it. The box IS PLUG AND PLAY. When I had it the code was 9999 for set up. But now you have to pay first I think. I don't really know I don't have it anymore.

You can call GMM call center and register the box for free and unlock the premium channels for a month or so. The code for menu setup now is 0000.

Edited June 4, 2012 by BuddhistVirus

[Soi Sauce]

Is it actually legal to block National TV channels?