What Happened To The Football Last Night?

[Wanraya]

I was in Tim's last night along with around 200 others to watch the England Paraguay game on their big screen.

There was a cracking atmosphere however at 8 pm the Thai TV channel inexplicably switched to showing footage of the Thai Royal family. After waiting around 20 minutes I went out to find another location. All beer bars in the vicinity were suffering the same problem no football. I eventually found a beer bar in Soi LK metro with it on a small screen where I was able to watch the second half.

Is this a deliberate attempt by the Thai authorities to prevent or at least disrupt world cup broadcasts. I remember in 2002 there was a leading police figure calling for delayed broadcasts of all the matches to prevent gambling on the outcome. Is this behind the disruption of the broadcasts.

Is this a one off or are we stuck with it for the whole world cup?

[Mobi]

It came on at about 8.25 p.m. It was blocked as they were showing the Royal news on all Thai channels.

Most of it was a repeat from Friday, but there is nothing anyone can do about it. The news takes precedence - its not some evil plan.

Someone I spoke to reckons this will continue to happen until Tuesday evening -as there are 5 days of Royal celebrations (Fri-Tues). But we shall have to wait and see.

The best thing is to find a bar that has the South African Feed. I found at least one on Soi 7 last night. (I say at least one because there was only one bar that had the Englsih soundtrack loud enough to hear - there may well have been others). I guess they get the feed from the local cable operator which is streaming the matches from the SA satellite.

[davethailand]

Well this is Thailand and its the Kings 60th year on the throne which is I suppose more important to the Thais than the world Cup. (and because they're not in it).

[icecubes]

I was in Tim's last night along with around 200 others to watch the England Paraguay game on their big screen.

There was a cracking atmosphere however at 8 pm the Thai TV channel inexplicably switched to showing footage of the Thai Royal family. After waiting around 20 minutes I went out to find another location. All beer bars in the vicinity were suffering the same problem no football. I eventually found a beer bar in Soi LK metro with it on a small screen where I was able to watch the second half.

Is this a deliberate attempt by the Thai authorities to prevent or at least disrupt world cup broadcasts. I remember in 2002 there was a leading police figure calling for delayed broadcasts of all the matches to prevent gambling on the outcome. Is this behind the disruption of the broadcasts.

Is this a one off or are we stuck with it for the whole world cup?

You obviously forgot what country you are in

and what is special about this year.

Have a look at your passport it should give you a clue.

What a boring thing to be doing whilst Thailand.

Up to you.

Now if you had naked ladies playing football i would

Watch it all day long.

But a load of blokes and a bag of wind.

No thanks.

got much better things to do in Thailand.

Have a nice day with your beer and football.

Yawn

[lampard10]

While I am an avid football fan, I think that FIFA made a huge mistake holding the opening ceromony and subsequent games on the same day as such a momumental time in World history.

60 years on the throne....5 x 12. This should have been celebrated World wide. A great moment for a great king. As I said in another thread, there should be a few red faces all round.

[taxexile]

why did the south african channels with english commentary disappear ?

are they being contractually blocked / does the owner of the thai rights to the world cup (chang beer) have anything to do with it in order to maintain his monopoly over the event here.

better to delay the broadcasts of matches by 30 mins than to come in during the middle of the game.

its annoying and unprofessional , its thai tv.

[eugengeri]

Well this is Thailand and its the Kings 60th year on the throne which is I suppose more important to the Thais than the world Cup. (and because they're not in it).

Thank you "davethailand"

This has first priority for Thais...

[davethailand]

Well this is Thailand and its the Kings 60th year on the throne which is I suppose more important to the Thais than the world Cup. (and because they're not in it).

Thank you "davethailand"

This has first priority for Thais...

I'd like to add that it should have priority of the world cup, I think that those farangs including myself that live here should respect that, I know i do.

[britmaveric]

It will be over soon, so whats 5days in the scheme of things for World Cup footie??? HRM deserves as much.

[musiclover]

why did the south african channels with english commentary disappear ?

are they being contractually blocked / does the owner of the thai rights to the world cup (chang beer) have anything to do with it in order to maintain his monopoly over the event here.

better to delay the broadcasts of matches by 30 mins than to come in during the middle of the game.

its annoying and unprofessional , its thai tv.

My Feed didnt disappear at all! I saw the whole game with English commentary. Where did this happen?

B.

[Phil Conners]

I don't know. I feel it borders to religiion and I believe in freedom of religion. Those who want to belive are free to believe, but those who don't should be free to do whatever they want to do instead.

But I know. TiT. In fact I'm surprised someone hasn't already closed this topic for even questioning the issue.

[Pattaya_Fox]

It will be over soon, so whats 5days in the scheme of things for World Cup footie??? HRM deserves as much.

Agreed...it is very important for the Thai people to be able to see news of this wonderful achievment of 60 years of reign for the King and the celebrations to mark this occasion.

Football comes way down the list of priorities as far as I am concerned

[Mobi]

It will be over soon, so whats 5days in the scheme of things for World Cup footie??? HRM deserves as much.

Agreed...it is very important for the Thai people to be able to see news of this wonderful achievment of 60 years of reign for the King and the celebrations to mark this occasion.

Football comes way down the list of priorities as far as I am concerned

I completely agree with the foregoing comments.

However I think an enterprising producer might have considered transmitting the partially blocked games in full on a time delay - in that way the viewers wouldn't misss anything, but I guess that wouldn't satisfy the purists.

It could have also been better announced in advance so that everyone knew where they stood.

But TIT, and I think its quite amusing - all these farangs all over Thailand glued to their TV screens with beers in hand, and they have to await the conclusion of the Thai news to watch their footie.

For those who have a major problem with this should have stayed in their home countries.

[Axel]

I was stuck Saturday night for over 2 hours in heavy traffic in Bangkok. Now I do not know what caused this. Either people trying to go for the football or others trying to buy a yellow shirt?

Anyway, when I reached my destination, football was on, the goal already done and nobody had seen it

[barryofthailand]

While I am an avid football fan, I think that FIFA made a huge mistake holding the opening ceromony and subsequent games on the same day as such a momumental time in World history.

60 years on the throne....5 x 12. This should have been celebrated World wide. A great moment for a great king. As I said in another thread, there should be a few red faces all round.

I whole heartedly agree with you Lamp. I watched the openning ceramonies on satellite, and was not impressed at all.

Barry

[Plus]

They just replayed the news that had been shown an hour before, and mostly it was replay from the previous day, too, and they used TV pool for that - all Thai channels broadcasting the same program. It was a bit of dissapointment for Thais in our household.

Today was the same story, but at least the news were fresh.

[madmitch]

why did the south african channels with english commentary disappear ?

are they being contractually blocked / does the owner of the thai rights to the world cup (chang beer) have anything to do with it in order to maintain his monopoly over the event here.

better to delay the broadcasts of matches by 30 mins than to come in during the middle of the game.

its annoying and unprofessional , its thai tv.

According to my satellite provider, and this is second hand from a conversation between my gf and them, they chose yesterday to introduce a new encryption code. I don't think that it can be contractually blocked because theoretically it's illegal anyway and if it could be blocked this would surely be permanent. It wasn't just the South African channels, I've also lost the Indonesian and Chinese encrypted channels (no WC anyway) meaning that my expensive satellite system is now offering me the standard Thai channels plus a whole load of total rubbish. I know very little about this so please forgive the lack of technical terms.

It does seem odd that someone on here says that they watched the SA feed. Can anyone elucidate more on this?

[Thaipwriter]

You obviously forgot what country you are in

and what is special about this year.

Have a look at your passport it should give you a clue.

What a boring thing to be doing whilst Thailand.

Up to you.

Now if you had naked ladies playing football i would

Watch it all day long.

But a load of blokes and a bag of wind.

No thanks.

got much better things to do in Thailand.

Have a nice day with your beer and football.

Yawn

What a W anchor!

[dboy]

as a football fan from scotland . i do believe the culture and traditions of the country which we're in is paramount . so i think thailand got it right

[pepsi666]

Is there only one TV channel in Thailand ?

I thought there was as many satalite TV channels as Sky in the UK, especialy sports channels

Still good luck to the King, Good old Queen Bess sent him a congratulatory letter (saw that in a UK newspaper, didnt make the front page though, (they must both be ruling about the same length of time)

[Mobi]

Is there only one TV channel in Thailand ?

I thought there was as many satalite TV channels as Sky in the UK, especialy sports channels

Still good luck to the King, Good old Queen Bess sent him a congratulatory letter (saw that in a UK newspaper, didnt make the front page though, (they must both be ruling about the same length of time)

The King since 1946 (60 years) and the Queen since 1952 (54 years). I believe the Queen is the second longest reigning monarch.

[icecubes]

What a W anchor!

Yes you must be right.

I would see nothing strange about flying 6000 miles

to Thailand.

To sit in a bar with like minded people watching the game.

When you have all these lovely ladies walking past you.

It all makes perfect sense to me.

Up to you.

Have a nice day.

[Noel]

Is this a deliberate attempt by the Thai authorities to prevent or at least disrupt world cup broadcasts. I remember in 2002 there was a leading police figure calling for delayed broadcasts of all the matches to prevent gambling on the outcome. Is this behind the disruption of the broadcasts.

Is this a one off or are we stuck with it for the whole world cup?

'Disruption'?

Errmmm, this has nothing whatsoever to do with the World Cup.

Just as the Thai national anthem is broadcast at 8.00am and 6.00pm every day, 8.00pm is dedicated to news about the King and the Royal family.

Some days there will only be a very brief clip, but given the current celebrations you can expect lengthier coverage.

I suppose you could petition FIFA and ask them to change kick-off times...

[harrydash]

What a W anchor!

Yes you must be right.

I would see nothing strange about flying 6000 miles

to Thailand.

To sit in a bar with like minded people watching the game.

When you have all these lovely ladies walking past you.

It all makes perfect sense to me.

Up to you.

Have a nice day.

I agree with thaipwriter you ARE a merchant banker.

The world cup comes once every 4 years and is the biggest sporting event of all.

There are 24 hours in every day, so to watch 2 hours of England playing in the world cup twice a week still leaves plenty of time for all other activities.

Why did you take part in a football thread when you obviously have no interest in it at all.

You deserve any flak you get.

[cuddleypete]

i agree with icecubes why fly 6000 miles to watch football ????

i suppose at least when you get home from your holiday in the land off smiles and your mates say you not got much off a tan have you, and you still got all those durex left ,you can reply yes it was good hoilday i watched plenty off football ,i had no time to spend with any off those beautifull girls you told me about.

Agreed...it is very important for the Thai people to be able to see news of this wonderful achievment of 60 years of reign for the King and the celebrations to mark this occasion.

Edited June 12, 2006 by cuddleypete

[icecubes]

I agree with thaipwriter you ARE a merchant banker.

The world cup comes once every 4 years and is the biggest sporting event of all.

There are 24 hours in every day, so to watch 2 hours of England playing in the world cup twice a week still leaves plenty of time for all other activities.

Why did you take part in a football thread when you obviously have no interest in it at all.

You deserve any flak you get.

The reason I commented on this thread is

because I cant believe the original posters question.

Unreal.

Talk about not knowing what?s going on around you.

Then to think it might be some conspiracy by the Thai authorities.

Unbelievable.

And yes your right I cant stand football.

I think there is very few bar owners in Pattaya who have not seen me

finish my drink get up and walk out the minute football is put on.

But up to you if you like it.

Ps thanks cuddleypete, thought I was all alone again.

You have a nice day.

[icecubes]

I agree with thaipwriter you ARE a merchant banker.

The world cup comes once every 4 years and is the biggest sporting event of all.

This is only a guess

but think you will find the Olympics is bigger than the world cup.

But I would only expect a football fan to know about football.

Have a nice day.

Does anyone know?

[suiging]

Maybe a point could be made for a channel to show the biggest sporting event in the world for those tourists in the land of smiles who wish to see it while they spend some of the billions they bring into the country which hopefully, in the fullness of time, will improve local healthcare, education etal. Kings achievements, outstanding, and all Thais and folk who choose to live here, should be justly proud. However, I'm sure His Royal Highness would wish to see tourists catered for during their stay, hospitality being a treasured national trait.

[pattayamick]

Guys.

World cup is every 4 years.

The Kings 60 years jubilee is only every 60 years.

So bear for a couple of days.

In the eighties we only got to watch a few selected games, and the tapes were then 2 days old.

Later on matches were shown live, but with so many ads thrown in, that you missed quite a few goals.

So bear for a couple of days, it could be worse.

[Pattaya_Fox]

What a W anchor!

Yes you must be right.

I would see nothing strange about flying 6000 miles

to Thailand.

To sit in a bar with like minded people watching the game.

When you have all these lovely ladies walking past you.

It all makes perfect sense to me.

Up to you.

Have a nice day.

I agree with thaipwriter you ARE a merchant banker.

The world cup comes once every 4 years and is the biggest sporting event of all.

There are 24 hours in every day, so to watch 2 hours of England playing in the world cup twice a week still leaves plenty of time for all other activities.

Why did you take part in a football thread when you obviously have no interest in it at all.

You deserve any flak you get.

Really harry there is no need to insult a forum member merely because he dislikes the game of football and replies to a quite stupid initial post.

After watching the boring England display I would think that many more people will be questioning whether there are better things to do with their time than watch football.

There are other things in life to do as well you know