Letters to the Editor

Dear Sir,
The conundrum regarding ex-pats moaning about a poor BBC signal on satellite is that the majority of ex-pats living on the island do not pay the BBC licence fee - so complaining about the lack of signal has no moral fortitude. I am sure that many would pay the fee for a good service. Somehow the BBC has to securely code its satellite signals so that people who subscribe outside the UK can legally watch, but we are a long way off that sort of secure technology. What many people fail to realise is that a huge amount of money has to be paid by a broadcaster for showing, for instance, certain films or drama or comedy series, and the amount to be paid depends on the official “footprint”, ie. the perceived home territory for the broadcaster. Sky is regularly pirated around the island, despite royalties on, for instance, Premier League matches, only being paid on the official UK “footprint.”  
Steve Riches
    
Dear Sir,
Since you have no legal right to watch the BBC or any of the UK commercial channels, C.Crane, you have no right or grounds to complain,as I have previously stated,it is a criminal offence,yes,criminal,not civil to watch or record LIVE UK t.v. without a valid TV licence,as all those who receive a hefty fine and criminal conviction in the UK courts on a regular basis will tell you. To be clear,the offence is watching or recording LIVE UK t.v. programmes without a valid T.V.. licence,something NOBODY viewing OUTSIDE the UK has since NO UK t.v. station has a licence to broadcast OUTSIDE the UK which is why the UK t.v. stations,QUITE RIGHTLY are trying to block all signals that can be received outside the UK.
Sean Dobson