Since Thailand’s tight-fisted cable company, TrueVisions, dumped the BBC Entertainment channel, thousands of disgruntled subscribers have been missing their favourite TV shows. Fortunately, there are alternative ways to watch BBC Entertainment in Thailand – plus many other good quality channels not offered by TrueVisions – and you can save money too.
Though their existence is never advertised, you can actually access 32 different TV satellites from Thailand and take your pick from 1,200 channels of entertainment – so long as you have the right dish and decoder.
For English speakers, BBC World and the Australia Network are free-to-view but everything else worth watching is subscription only. The two packages that stand out are Malaysia’s Astro and the All Africa Multichoice Network.
Astro offers a package comparable to TrueVisions Platinum for about half the price – about THB 12,500 per year – and BBC Entertainment is included. Just like TrueVisions, however, Astro tends to cut out when it rains.
The rain-proof All Africa Multichoice Network requires a bigger dish but is even more comprehensive. In addition to BBC Entertainment, you also get BBC Lifestyle and Sky News. Their sports coverage is amazing, with eight dedicated channels. The price is amazing too, at about THB 50,000 per year, so it only makes sense if you happen to own a pub.
At this point, we must adopt hushed tones because, strictly speaking, TrueVisions owns the exclusive rights to re-broadcast many of these channels in Thailand. Subscribers to Astro and Multichoice shouldn’t worry unduly, however, because the responsibility for these violations rests with the broadcasters alone.
Viewers fed-up with TrueVisions’ lean, overpriced offerings can buy genuine subscriptions to either of these good-quality satellite packages with a clear conscience but the shadowy nature of the trade means that cheap smart-cards of dubious origin might also be on offer – if you’re lucky.
Having the dish erected with a suitable set-top box should cost a little under THB 20,000. Hardware suppliers, such as JSAT, can operate quite openly because they’re not doing anything illegal. They don’t supply smart-cards but you can be certain that they know a man who does.
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This is fantastic. Thanks! When I shifted to where I am now, the contractor (British) mentioned that there was something else available, but that they would not put it in a condo. Hopefully, his information is total bunk! Because yes, I’d love to be paying half what I am now.
This is wonderful news. I’m lost without BBCE. my eyes are sore from reading so many books. I will give this a go. Better than moving countries in order to watch TV.
Thanks for the great article.