NFL games blackout

While I realise that criticising Melita's service is a common pastime in these pages, and not unlike "shooting fish in a barrel", one issue disturbs me particularly.

Melita's "XL" cable package includes ESPN America. The jewel of this channel is its extensive coverage of the NFL, the American professional football league, including season and playoff games, culminating in the Superbowl.

This is of massive interest to foreigners and Maltese alike, especially those of the latter who have returned from the USA and Canada. Melita includes NFL games in its publicity and monthly programme guides.

The trouble is that Melita has never actually shown any NFL games this season! If I were watching ESPN America in other European countries I would get the NFL games on that channel but apparently not here.

My queries to Melita's customer service elicit every type of response except an actual answer to my simple question, which is: "Why aren't you showing NFL games as advertised?"

I and others switched to the Melita digital package for the main purpose of getting these games but what we have is another instance - common in these islands - of the reality being far different than what is being put forth in print.

Aside from the principle of the matter, in my view, as ESPN America's coverage of the NFL is the only real advantage of choosing Melita over its competitor or satellite coverage, there hardly seems a point in continuing with it.