Annoyed with local coverage of Olympics

As a fan of long distance running, I was keen to view the 10,000 metre final to see the world champion, Mo Farah, defend his title on Saturday at 8.25 pm local time.

At the scheduled time, I eagerly switched on my TV to CNC3.

Much to my chagrin, the station had instead chosen to air a rerun of Family Feud. I frantically switched the channel to NBC, hoping that American coverage might prevail where local failed. Instead I was greeted by a notice from Flow indicating that due to broadcast restrictions NBC was unable to air the event. This is a recurring problem in TT where a local provider purchases exclusive rights to air a major sporting event and then for whatever reason falls short of its commitment.

I understand that the station may not be able to air the Olympics 24/7, as it may have other important programming such as the news to broadcast, but neglecting to air a major track and field event and choosing instead to air a game show rerun is quite unpardonable.

If you know in advance that your scheduling would not allow you to broadcast an event during a certain time slot, why not make an agreement with Flow to allow them to air the event for that period only, and then block the content when your coverage resumes.

In any case, I am certain that no one with access to cable television would be viewing CNC3 just so they can watch Family Feud, when they have so many other channels to choose from including the GSN game network if they are interested in game shows.

Another (albeit less palatable) solution would be for CNC3 to air its alternate programme (Feud in this case) but have a small square to the corner of the screen showing the event (Olympic track and field in this case). Buying exclusive broadcast rights only to not exercise them and then blocking the efforts of other providers to fill the gap is an infuriating practice.

It is time this behaviour stops.

Reiad Khan Princes Town