9 December 2006

The local sports channel has decided to become a subscription service. This in itself is not so bad as its programming is pretty dire, however they also hold the distribution rights to Fox Soccer and its output is pretty damn good. This has caught me on the hop a little and the derby in on today. Being Jamaica there is no way I will get this switched on today as I need to go down to the cable office and fill out a little form before paying the J$400 monthly charge. I had asked the Lady of Leisure to organize this for me during the week, but she didn’t find the time what with all the new outfits she had to try on again, after the shopping trip to Miami.

I am reluctant to pay it too. I had prepaid my cable package for a year and to my mind that constitutes a contract for the supply of the service as offered when the deal was made. It’s only J$400 and the idea of holding such a discussion with a gormless clerk is filling me with anger and frustration already.

In the meantime I headed out to try to catch the match at one of the myriad of sports bars. I even chose one of those with TV’s. Sportsmax’s decision to go subscription appears to have caught the bars out too. And the hotels… They obviously planned and communicated this transition extremely well. I was forced to return home and pay for an internet radio subscription, dearer than that for the television, but it is now a principled stand. I hope the lost advertising revenues outweigh the few subscription they now get.