Letter by me in South China Morning Post:
I am among the subscribers to Now TV’s cricket channel; and while there’s a premium price, the quality of service is dire.
Understandably, given the sport’s low profile in Hong Kong, the content is from elsewhere – India’s Star Sport. But what I can’t understand is that Now TV can still make serious errors, as if the management cares nothing for customers.
In recent days, this has meant starting to show an England v South Africa test match that’s among the highlights of the year’s cricketing calendar, and interrupting it to show matches in the Women’s World Cup. I have complained, and Now TV’s customer service people claimed this was due to a “technical issue”, which is absurd. Star Sport was showing both matches on two channels, so Now TV could have opted to continue the test match. Or, as there are two slots available for cricket, Now TV could have shown both matches simultaneously.
I have also been informed of my message being passed to the “related department”. Yet it seems no one is home in this mythical department; there is no one charged with overseeing the cricket channel – surely due to a lapse by the management team, which remains aloof, remote, and insulated.
While the cricket channel is minor in the Hong Kong media world, the inept service delivery reflects a management malaise within PCCW Now TV, which in turn affects a great many Hong Kong people.
I note that the Office of the Communications Authority has a mission centred on fulfilling the vision that Hong Kong has world-class communications services. Perhaps it might assess whether Now TV is delivering woeful rather than world-class services, at least for the cricket channel, and investigate possible alternatives. A few years ago, the channel began showing a match with Hindi commentary. I complained, and after some time it was switched to English, as it would have been from the start if Now TV bothered with quality control.
Also, the channel has long periods without any cricket at all, just showing people in India talking about cricket.
Dr Martin Williams, Cheung Chau